Another transfer window brings with it the familiar drama surrounding Paris-Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe, as the club's owner, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has issued an ultimatum to the French superstar.
It seems that a transfer window without Mbappe drama is incomplete. However, Al-Khelaifi is determined to bring this saga to a definitive conclusion. During a press conference on Wednesday (July 5), the President announced that the 24-year-old forward must make a decision about his future at the club within the next two weeks.
PSG president Al-Khelaifi: “Mbappé has said that he will not leave for free. If he changed his mind, it is NOT my fault”. ⚠️🇫🇷 #PSG pic.twitter.com/tDM2sjJCIf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 5, 2023
Last month, Mbappe stunned everyone by stating that he would not be triggering the clause to extend his contract at PSG until June 2024. Since that moment, PSG's board has been clear about their stance: either Mbappe signs an extension or he departs for a transfer fee this summer..
Kylian Mbappe has been the leading goal scorer for both PSG and Ligue 1 for the past five seasons since his move from AS Monaco in 2017 for a world-record fee of €180 million.
Allowing your star player and top goal scorer to leave for free is detrimental to the club's business, as emphasized by Al-Khelaifi in a press conference following the announcement of Luis Enrique as the new manager.
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Mbappe has consistently expressed his desire to join his childhood dream club, Real Madrid, and his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo has only fueled those aspirations.
Mbappe with pictures of Ronaldo all over his wall. The GOAT. pic.twitter.com/k7nurUUlik
— UTDJ (@UTDlegendary) October 9, 2020
Speculation about his potential move to Los Blancos has been ongoing, particularly during the 2021 summer transfer window when it seemed likely that the Frenchman would join the Spanish giants. However, a last-minute effort from PSG led Mbappe to extend his stay at the club.
Real Madrid was prepared to offer a staggering €200 million for the French forward during the 2021 summer window. The world had already imagined Mbappe wearing the Madrid jersey, but to the disappointment of Madridistas, as well as the extraordinary efforts and offers from PSG and even French President Emmanuel Macron, Mbappe extended his contract until 2024.
Real Madrid has a history of conducting audacious business in the transfer market. In 2000, the club's president, Florentino Perez, shocked the football world by bringing Luis Figo from arch-rivals FC Barcelona. This transfer caused havoc not only in Spain but worldwide.
This indicates that Madrid is not afraid to play dirty in the Mbappe transfer saga and may even orchestrate one of the biggest transfer coups of all time by acquiring Kylian Mbappe, one of the biggest and potentially most expensive names in world football, for free when his contract expires in January 2024.
Many rumors suggest that this is Perez's masterplan, and Madridistas cannot hide their emotions surrounding this tale.
During the 2021 window, Paris-Saint-Germain went to unprecedented lengths to retain Kylian Mbappe. The club made extraordinary offers
The extension would have seen Mbappe earn €630 million over the course of his new contract, including:
There were even reports of the French President personally requesting Mbappe to stay, a rare occurrence in the world of football.
This makes the entire football world ponder two questions,