Soccer

Soccer: Luis Suarez, Paulo Dybala to leave clubs; Kylian Mbappe close to PSG decision

By Alex Butler   |   May 16, 2022 at 12:50 PM
Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez wrote several farewell messages to the team and its fans Sunday on social media. Photo by Sergio Perez/EPA-EFE French striker Kylian Mbappe (L) could return to PSG, but also is linked to clubs in Spain's La Liga and England's Premier League. File Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI Longtime Juventus striker Paulo Dybala (R) announced Sunday that he will leave the Italian Serie A club. Photo by Alessandro Di Marco/EPA-EFE

May 16 (UPI) -- Luis Suarez and Paulo Dybala will leave their respective soccer teams this off-season, they announced on social media. Fellow forward Kylian Mbappe also said he is "almost" ready to announce his next team.

Suarez and Dybala each confirmed their respective departures from Atletico Madrid and Juventus on Sunday on Twitter and Instagram. Mbappe commented on his future after he accepted Ligue 1 Player of the Year honors at the UNFP awards Sunday in Paris.

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Mbappe, a three-time winner of the award given to the best player in the French league, said the ceremony wasn't the "right place" to talk about his status with Paris Saint-Germain, of France's Ligue 1.

"It will be known very soon, it's almost done," Mbappe said. "My decision is made, yes, almost."

Mbappe, 23, joined PSG on loan from Monaco during the 2017-18 season. He signed a permanent, four-year pact with the club in 2018.

The expiration of that deal continues to lead to speculation that he will join Spanish La Liga power Real Madrid, despite PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino's claim last month that he is "100%" sure the striker will stay in Paris. Liverpool, of England's Premier League, is another club with reported interest in Mbappe.

PSG secured a Ligue 1 title through a 1-1 draw with Lens on April 23. The club hosts Metz in its final Ligue 1 game of the season at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris.

Mbappe registered 25 goals and 17 assists in 34 Ligue 1 games this season. He totaled six goals and four assists in eight appearances in the 2021-22 Champions League.

La Liga's Atletico Madrid announced Sunday that Suarez and midfielder Hector Herrera will leave the Spanish club off-season. Suarez, who joined the team in 2020, confirmed the move with several farewell social media posts.

"Eternally grateful to the fans for the affection, for the workers of Atletico Madrid, for the love from day-to-day and my family who always accompanied me," Suarez wrote.

Suarez, 35, scored 11 goals and totaled two assists in 34 La Liga games this season. Atletico battles Real Sociedad in its final La Liga game at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday in San Sebastian, Spain.

Dybala joined Juventus of Italy's Serie A in 2018. The 28-year-old Argentine scored 15 goals and logged six assists in 37 league games in 2021-22. He said he hoped to remain with the club.

"It is difficult to find the right words to say bye to you," Dybala wrote on Instagram and Twitter. "There are so many years and so many emotions all together.

"I thought we would have stayed together a few more years, but destiny has led us down different paths. I will never forget everything you gave me; every match, every goal. I have grown up, learnt with you. I have lived a dream."

Juventus hosts Lazio in a Serie A game at 2:45 p.m. EDT Monday in Turin, Italy. The club faces Fiorentina in its final game of the campaign Saturday in Florence.