How Kylian Mbappe could go summer WITHOUT a break as Euro 2020 and the Olympic

For many players a hard fought season will end in the middle of May and they can head off into the summer relaxed knowing they won’t have to kick a ball in anger again for just under three months.

Of course pre-season ensures it won’t all be putting your feet up on a private beach in that time but they will certainly have it easier than a select few young European stars who will be in high demand across the summer.

It will be a busy few months for football, with Euro 2020 and all its preparations immediately taking the focus once the domestic campaigns end. But this year the European Championship will also be followed by the Olympics in Tokyo.

The main event on the football calendar this summer is the European Championship

The Euros will get underway two weeks after the Champions League final in Istanbul

As well as the Euros, France, Germany and Spain have all qualified for the Games which will feature squads of youngsters born in 1997 or later plus three over age players.

Romania could book a place at Euro 2020 if they win March play-offs against Iceland and Bulgaria or Hungary, but they too have qualified for the Olympics. 

The gold medal final takes place around the start of the 2020-21 domestic seasons, and across four nations there are players who are in danger of going through the entire summer without a break.

While the Olympic teams can still feature three players over the age of 23, the squads have yet to be picked.

Either way there are already some highly rated stars around who could head into the summer with goals on becoming European champions and Olympic gold medallists as apposed to relaxing with a pina colada on a pedalo for a few weeks.

The Olympic football tournament follows just 11 days after the conclusion of Euro 2020

France 

Perhaps the biggest casualties come from France, who with Kylian Mbappe have a star involved in a club vs country row.

Having already won the World Cup, Mbappe will now be keen to add the European Championship to his CV as a key member of Didier Deschamps’ team.

However, the Paris Saint-Germain forward is also eligible for the Olympics and has pledged a desire to travel to Tokyo. 

From the end of the current season to the start of the next, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe could go the entire summer without a break

Mbappe will be key to France at Euro 2020 and also wants to feature at the Olympics in Tokyo

From PSG’s perspective they will not want one of their star forwards playing continuously throughout the summer and from their perspective you can understand why when you look at Mbappe’s potential schedule.

The French top flight ends on May 23, but should PSG make the Champions League final then Mbappe’s commitments with his club will extend to May 30 for the Istanbul showdown. 

From there, preparation immediately begins for Euro 2020 with France’s first warm up game coming just over a week later against Croatia before they get their campaign underway on June 16…