PARIS – France captain Kylian Mbappe has told officials at Paris Saint-Germain that he intends to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, a source close to the Ligue 1 champions said on Feb 15.
The 25-year-old, who arrived in Paris from Monaco in 2017, had extended his contract in 2022 until 2024 but last summer declined to activate a clause allowing him to stay another year at PSG.
Mbappe has been widely tipped to move to Real Madrid and, according to a source close to the matter, has already entered negotiations with the Spanish giants.
“The terms of the departure have yet to be fully agreed,” the source said, adding that the club and Mbappe will make an official statement “when everything is finalised in the next few months”.
PSG coach Luis Enrique declined to comment when asked about Mbappe’s future on Feb 16.
He said: “The parties involved haven’t yet said anything publicly, Kylian Mbappe hasn’t said anything publicly. When both parties speak, I will give my opinion.”
Mbappe will leave PSG on a free transfer but the blow to the club will be softened by an agreement they reached last summer, which will see the player waive bonuses amounting to around €60 million (S$87 million) to €70 million.
After seven seasons at PSG, Mbappe, the club’s all-time top scorer with 243 goals, looks set to seal a move to Real, the club that he has dreamt of playing for since he was a child.
Real have made no secret of their desire to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu. In 2019, 2021 and 2022, club president Florentino Perez bid to sign him, only to be rebuffed each time.
Things might not be straightforward this time too, with The Athletic reporting that influential members of Mbappe’s entourage have been left unconvinced by the Spanish club’s offer.
For PSG, the departure of their main star, a year after the exits of Neymar and Lionel Messi, marks a new era of uncertainty.
Enrique is expected to be given the powers to shape a young team. At the highest levels of the club, it has been hammered home in recent months that the priority must be the “recruitment of several players when Mbappe leaves”.
PSG will, said a source close to the club, continue their transformation “towards the collective and youth”.
However, Mbappe has been a prolific striker, who has scored far more than any other player this season.
He broke the deadlock again on Feb 14 in a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Mbappe also has more than 111 million subscribers on Instagram, giving PSG a wide international profile.
Mbappe last spoke about his future in early January when he insisted he had yet to make up his mind.
Mbappe, who has 46 goals from 75 international appearances, is paid some €70 million a year.
As a free agent, he will be able to negotiate a blockbuster signing-on fee on top of any salary increase.
If the 2018 World Cup winner and 2022 World Cup top scorer does join Real in July, Rodrygo or fellow Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr may have to make way for him. AFP
