With Lionel Messi and Neymar no longer at the club, Kylian Mbappe has been left as the face of Paris Saint-Germain for the 2023-24 season. However, it looks like his exclusive popularity in the French capital hasn’t translated into record sales.
According to French journalist Abdellah Boulma, Kang-in Lee is the PSG player who sells the most jerseys this season. Mbappe is reportedly slightly behind of his teammate, but it’s quite a surprise not to see him lead the list of top-selling shirts.
The Frenchman has been at the Parc des Princes since 2018. The South Korean star, on the other hand, arrived in Paris from Mallorca in a €22 million move in the summer. But there might be a reason that explains this situation.
Mbappe’s future at PSG looked up in the air this summer
For months, it looked like Mbappe would leave PSG. The 24-year-old striker had already flirted with a possible departure in 2022, with Real Madrid expected to land him as a free agent.
Mbappe ultimately stayed in France, and the club announced the new deal would keep him at the club until June 2025. But it turns out that he signed a two-year contract with an option for another season. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a three-year deal unless he decided to exercise that clause.
In the summer, Mbappe made headlines for reportedly letting PSG know he had no intention of triggering the option for an extra year. That meant he could become a free agent in 2024, putting himself in the same position than only a year ago.
Mbappe was linked with Real Madrid, Al-Hilal
That led to a months-long saga about Mbappe’s future. Since PSG didn’t want to lose him for nothing in 2024, they considered to cash in for the striker this summer. Real Madrid were once again strongly linked with Mbappe, but they looked reluctant to meet PSG’s astonishing demands.
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Mbappe reportedly didn’t want to leave PSG this season, despite serious interest from Saudi Arabian giants Al-Hilal besides the rumors of Madrid. In the end, they worked it out. Mbappe was separated from the squad for a while, but the club eventually let him rejoin Luis Enrique’s team.
With Mbappe still leading PSG’s attack, it may be hard to believe this situation happened only a few months ago. But it did. And it may explain his jersey sales figures. At some point, when his future was still uncertain, the PSG store didn’t even sell Mbappe’s shirt.
As for Kang-in Lee, his popularity in Asia may be a reason behind the high demand for his Paris Saint-Germain jersey. While he has yet to make an impression at the Parc des Princes, the young midfielder has recently helped South Korea win the Gold Medal at the 2023 Asian Games.
