Mbappe's PSG to play three games in Japan in July

Tokyo (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain will play three J-League teams on a tour of Japan this summer, the French champions said on Thursday, as they court an Asian audience with Kylian Mbappe still in tow.

PSG will play Kawasaki Frontale, who have won the J-League four times in the past five years, at Tokyo’s Olympic stadium on July 20 before taking on Urawa Reds in Saitama three days later.

They will round off the tour against Gamba Osaka in Osaka on July 25.

The French club will also hold open training sessions in Tokyo and Osaka, allowing the players to “interact with fans and discover Japanese culture”.

It will be PSG’s first tour of the country since 1995.

“This is a very special moment for the club to announce its summer tour in Japan, right after the announcement of Kylian Mbappe to renew his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, I think it shows the ambition of the club,” said Sebastien Wasels, PSG’s Asia Pacific managing director.

“Japan has always been very central in PSG’s strategy,” he added.

The 23-year-old attacker Mbappe chose to sign a new three-year contract at PSG last weekend rather than join Real Madrid.