Mbappe Performs U-Turn To Stay At PSG

If you asked anyone a couple of weeks ago where Kylian Mbappe would be playing his football next season, everyone would have replied with Real Madrid. The Frenchman had long since expressed his desire to leave PSG, and after a move to the Bernabeu failed to materialise last season, a free transfer to Real was a sure-fire thing to happen. But the Ligue 1 champions had other ideas.

Mbappe, 23, is one of the most talented footballers on the planet. Like Erling Haaland, who recently signed for Manchester City, Mbappe is fancied to go on and become one of the greatest players to grace the sport. But, many feel that for him to realise his potential, a move to a more competitive league and a bigger club had to happen. So the idea of becoming a megastar at Real Madrid in La Liga made a lot of sense.

Mbappe has never made any secret of his love for Real Madrid and his desire to pull on their famous white jersey at some stage of his career. And all this, alongside his reported disappointment with life at PSG, opened the door for Florentino Perez, Real’s president, to get to work on securing one of world football’s hottest properties. And this was a deal everyone thought was done. Nobody could envisage a point where Mbappe would decide to remain in Paris for the foreseeable. But Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, PSG’s owner, and the club’s president Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi were ready to do whatever it took. 

And it was the determination, the wavering and the financial power of PSG that won the day, with Mbappe agreeing to a new three-year contract that is thought to be worth €1 million per week, keeping him at the club until 2025. It’s also suggested that Mbappe will have some say on the critical decisions that happen behind the scenes at the Parc des Princes, with the striker reportedly not a fan of sporting director Leonardo, who has now been axed from his position. Mbappe is also said to have put forward his own suggestion for the role in Luis Campos.

Questions still remain as to whether the decision to stay at PSG was motivated by the financials involved for Mbappe or if he feels that his ambitions can be matched and that he will continue to grow as a footballer in Ligue 1. After all, he continues to play in the same team as the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marquinhos, Lionel Messi and Neymar. The talent of the squad is undoubted.

But, when all is said and done, while PSG regularly competes in the Champions League, Mbappe will likely have to venture to pastures new in the future if he’s really to prove himself on the biggest stage. Naturally, La Liga is the most likely destination. But there was an admission from the Frenchman that he had spoken to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, so the Premier League could also be an option.