The Kylian Mbappe transfer saga has been ignited once again as the superstar entered the final six months of his contract at PSG.
Real Madrid and Liverpool are the two frontrunners battling it out to sign the France captain on a free transfer in the summer. Los Blancos came close to completing a deal 18 months ago, but were blindsided by Mbappe signing a new deal with PSG.
But the attacker has already informed the Ligue 1 giants he will not be activating the extension clause in his contract. That means that he is set to depart the Parc des Princes on a free transfer in the summer window.
Mbappe is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas side this month, with Madrid currently in pole position. Here, Mirror Football rounds up the latest developments in the future of the World Cup winner.
Madrid’s offer and ultimatum
Madrid has long been seen as Mbappe’s most likely destination, with the La Liga giants already making their pitch to the PSG star. Having missed out on him in 2022, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is determined to get his man this time around.
In order to close the desl, Madrid have reportedly offered him an £86million signing-on bonus. There is a sticking point over salary though, with the Spanish giants unlikely to get close to matching Mbappe’s £21.5m per year wages.
The current highest earners at the Bernabeu take hom £8.6m a year, with Madrid looking to sweeten the deal for Mbappe as a result. They could look to include a clause for winning the Ballon d’Or among others to do that.
Mbappe does not have long to come to a decision though, with The Athletic having reported that Madrid have set him a deadline of mid-January for a decision. That ultimatum comes after they were burned badly in their previous attempt to sign him, with Perez does not publicly hold any bad feelings.
“Mbappe did not betray me. Mbappe told us his dream was to play for Real Madrid, many and many times. But then all changed in 15 days because of political and economical pressure,” Perez told El Chiringuito.
“His dream had to change. Macron called Mbappe. PSG offered him to be the leader of the project, it changed everything. I think Kylian Mbappe’s mom wanted him to join Real Madrid, she knows it has always been Kylian’s dream. I still respect Kylian, absolutely.”
While Madrid have made their move, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is adamant that he wants Mbappe to stay in the French capital. PSG have changed their strategy away from signing superstars over the last year, but Al-Khelaifi has insisted Mbappe remains key to their plans.
“I want Kylian Mbappe to stay at PSG. He’s the best player in the world and the best club for him is PSG. He is central to our project. It’s normal to ask about him. For me he is the best in the world,” Al Khelaïfi told the Rothen s’enflamme RMC podcast.
“I have a very good relationship with him. Not only as a player, as a person. He has an agreement with me, as he has said. There is no negotiation, but I think he is still young, he wants to win many trophies and hopefully with us.
We have put together a team that is solid on a technical level and our system of play has been changed and it is a pleasure to watch this team. We play as a team, we defend as a team, it is magnificent.
“It was time to change, to build something new. In Paris we have the best player in the world, and today we are one of the best clubs in the world. We are fourth in the UEFA rankings. We have to continue and we work to win.”
Liverpool look to spring a surprise
Madrid are not the only team keen to sign him though, with Liverpool looking to pull off a stunning move of their own. The Reds are though to view Mbappe as the ideal replacement for Mohamed Salah, who could move to the Saudi Pro League this summer.
Any deal from Liverpool will involve Madrid pulling their interest, with the Reds content to adopt a wait-and-see strategy for now. Securing Mbappe will be incredibly difficult financially, though former Reds hero Gary McAllister believes they should make an offer.
“The link with Liverpool has also been there. Liverpool were also in the picture when Jude Bellingham was available. I can’t see a reason why they couldn’t get Mbappe if the deal worked for them,” he said.
But boss Jurgen Klopp has consistently played down suggestions that the Reds will be able to sign him. Back in July, Klopp ruled out Liverpool from ever being able to sign Mbappe due to the financial conditions.
“We laugh about it,” Klopp told Sky Germany. “I can say that I think he’s a really good player but the financial conditions don’t suit us at all. I wouldn’t like to ruin the story now… but as far as I know, there’s nothing to it.
“It’s possible that someone else from the club is preparing something and wants to surprise me… that hasn’t happened in the eight years that I’ve been here. That would be the first time.”
Mbappe certainly appears to be ready to move on from PSG, having already sacrificed a loyalty bonus worth £69m. He was handed the bonus last summer after remaining with the club beyond that transfer window, though has waived the first instalment.
And he will forgo it completely should he leave the Parc des Princes in six months. Mbappe wrote to PSG chiefs last year to inform them he would not be activating the extension clause in his contract, though has now insisted he has not made a decision on his future.
“First of all, I am very, very, very motivated for this year. It is very important. “As I said, we have titles to chase and we’ve already won one, so that’s already done. After that, no, I haven’t made a decision yet,” he said after PSG won the French Super Cup last week.
“In any case, with the agreement I made with the president this summer, it does not matter what he decides. We manage to protect all parties and preserve the serenity of the club for the challenges that lie ahead, which continues being the most important thing.
So we’ll say it’s secondary. I think it was at the end of May 2022 because I didn’t know until May. But if I know what I want to do, why drag it out? It just doesn’t make sense.”
