Kylian Mbappe is free to negotiate a summer move – and Real Madrid have set a deadline
Today, at the start of 2024, Kylian Mbappé enters the last six months of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which means he will be able to negotiate with clubs interested in signing him on a free transfer at the end of the month to contract. that appointment.
At the age of 25, Mbappé is already a World Cup winner, runner-up and Golden Boot winner, and is widely recognized as one of the best footballers in the world. His future has also been the subject of frenzied and lengthy speculation, with the Frenchman regularly flirting with Real Madrid and falling out with PSG.
At some point in the near future, Mbappé will have to decide whether to extend his contract in Paris (something he refused to do last summer), sign for Madrid (something he came very close to in the summer of 2022) or somewhere have to move elsewhere. different (something he resisted when he turned down advances from Saudi Arabia last August).
The Athletics reported on Friday that Madrid are preparing to make another move for Mbappe, but a lot has changed since they first began their pursuit.
Our Mario Cortegana and Adam Crafton explain the background and what Madrid, PSG and Mbappé think about a saga that may finally be coming to an end.
What is Mbappé’s situation at PSG: didn’t they kiss and make up this summer?
Yes, but they fall out and are made up every summer before falling out again. To summarize, Mbappé had one year left to complete his contract in the summer of 2023 and he informed PSG in writing that he would not activate an option to extend the contract.
As such, PSG said, at least for a few weeks, that they would sell Mbappe immediately to avoid losing him on a free transfer unless he was willing to sign another extension. And so he was briefly dumped into the ‘pen’ – the term used to describe PSG’s unwanted players left behind while the rest went on the club’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
PSG at one point threatened to ignore Mbappe for the entire season leading up to the 2024 European Championship final, when he should be fit and shooting for the France side he now captains. However, the two sides relented in mid-August when Mbappe returned to first-team training.
Since then he has scored 18 league goals for the French champions. However, he has not yet signed an extension.
Mbappe also turned down a move to Saudi Arabia when Al Hilal submitted a world record offer of $332m (£260m) to take him to the Saudi Pro League.
Discussions were held with Mbappé, his parents, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and their sports advisor Jorge Campos.
One compromise reported at the time involved reaching an agreement that would see Mbappe hand over certain loyalty bonuses, facilitating his return to PSG’s first team without signing an extension.
Adam Crafton
Does Real Madrid still want him?
Madrid’s interest in Mbappé has never faded. Contact between the parties has not yet been completely lost and the Spanish club has already set a deadline of mid-January for Mbappé to make a decision on his future.
The events of last summer – when Madrid thought they had their man, only for Mbappe to sign a new contract with PSG – have changed the nature of their interest. There are important voices among the fourteen-time European champions, who are now not convinced, on a sporting and especially financial level, that the signing of Mbappé is now what their project needs.
The rising costs of the extensive renovation work on the Santiago Bernabeu stadium have limited the club’s purchasing power and Madrid want to ensure they make a profit every year – something they managed even during the pandemic. Some are also aware of how Mbappe’s arrival would disrupt the harmony in the dressing room – especially when it comes to the wage bill.
Would Mbappé do the same, even if Jude Bellingham settled in Madrid quickly and without any problems after moving last summer? His many controversies at PSG and with the French national team, where he plays with several members of the Madrid squad, have raised doubts among the board as to whether the excessive power he has been given in Paris is ultimately a problem for them could become.
So the scenario now is different than in 2022 or 2023 and accordingly Madrid’s offer would also be different. The deadlines are also not the same: Madrid would want a commitment from Mbappé to avoid him coming up short again in May or June, as happened to them last year.
Then it would be time for the key phase: the negotiations between Jose Angel Sanchez, Madrid’s general manager, and Fayza Lamari and Delphine Verheyden, Mbappé’s mother and lawyer respectively.
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It should be noted that Lamari was annoyed with Florentino Perez, who blamed the Madrid club president for leaking to the Spanish press that Mbappe’s signing was done for them to put pressure on her son. Still, Mbappé’s mother was delighted with the attitude of Sánchez, who would be the main interlocutor in future negotiations.
Mario Cortegana
What do we know about what PSG wants?
PSG would ideally want Mbappe to stay with them for what should be the best years of his career.
They have promised him hundreds of millions of euros in transfer fees and wages since the original move from Monaco in 2017, and a player who has won a World Cup and scored a hat-trick in another World Cup final remains a prized asset. The club is also in advanced talks to extend the contract of 17-year-old Ethan Mbappé, Kylian’s younger brother.
Mbappe with brother and teammate Ethan in December (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
PSG has drawn up budgets and plans in case both Mbappe stays and leaves. The club say they won’t be forced to overpay this time, yet we know they have a good track record of doing just that when it comes to this player.
They would save over €40 million a year in wages alone if Mbappe were to leave, while Al-Khelaifi would undoubtedly consider it a political masterpiece if he could somehow convince the Paris-born striker to sign another extension to sign, after previously rejecting Madrid. at least twice before.
Adam Crafton
And what does Mbappé want?
Only he knows where he wants to play football in the longer term.
People close to him continue to insist that he wants to play for Madrid, and the player has direct contact with Perez, probably his signing’s main supporter – despite everything that has happened in recent years.
But at the Bernabeu, some believe that the first step should be taken by the player himself: he promises to join them, decides to stay in Paris or talk to other clubs – but only he can really decide his future .
Mario Cortegana
(Top photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)