Kylian Mbappe: Paris Saint-Germain forward feels club keeping him against his will amid Real Madrid bids
Kylian Mbappe feels he is being kept at Paris Saint-Germain against his will amid bids from Real Madrid.
Real Madrid have made an offer of €170m (£145.6m) plus €10m (£8.6m) in add-ons for the France international forward and given PSG a deadline of midnight on Sunday to respond.
Mbappe believes PSG promised him they would let him go if they received what they paid for him (€180m/£154m) and are now going back on their word.
If PSG turn down the offer or do not respond, Real Madrid will switch to their Plan B and sign the player on a pre-contract agreement in January so they can get him for free next summer.
Real and PSG held progressive talks on Thursday, but Sky Sports News has been told a deal is not close yet.
Mbappe has told PSG, who turned down Real’s opening offer of £137m on Wednesday, it is his dream to play for the Spanish side.
His PSG contract expires at the end of the season and he has so far rejected the French club’s attempts to renew his deal.
Speaking on Thursday, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi discussed Real’s latest bid with beIN SPORTS, saying: “We’ve always been very clear… the situation, the position of the club.
“We’re not going to repeat it every time. You know our position, it has not changed.”
However, the Ligue 1 side’s sporting director Leonardo was more forthcoming on Wednesday, following Real’s first offer for Mbappe.
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He told RMC Sport: “Kylian wants to leave, it seems clear to me. If Real Madrid makes an offer, it seems clear to me… I am taking a position that I think is clear to everyone.
“If he wants to leave, we are not going to hold him back, but it will be on our terms.
“Kylian always promised that he would never leave the club for free. That’s what he’s always told us.
“We have no plans to talk to Real Madrid again. The deadline is August 31 at midnight. That’s how the transfer window is, but we are clear about this: we want to keep him and extend his deal.
“But we’re not going to let him go for less than what we paid for him, when we still owe Monaco money.”
PSG signed Mbappe from Monaco in a €180m (£154m) deal in 2018 after a season-long loan.
However, they have only paid €145m (£124m) so far, with the rest due either when Mbappe renews his deal or when PSG sell him.
Mbappe has scored 133 times and made 63 assists in 174 games in all competitions since joining PSG and has helped them to 11 major domestic honours, including three Ligue 1 titles.
Real Madrid have incurred an estimated €300m (£257m) in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and David Alaba, who joined on a free transfer earlier this summer after his deal at Bayern Munich expired, is the only addition to their squad so far during the current transfer window.
Meanwhile, PSG have signed Lionel Messi, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum.
