 "Kylian Mbappe has reportedly notified PSG that he will leave the club. Real Madrid are the likely destination. AP")
After long and dramatically dragged out transfer sagas, stretching over two seasons, Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain that he’ll leave the club when his contract expires this summer. Reports suggest he’s going to put pen to paper at Real Madrid , who have chased him all this while.
This isn’t the first time this high-profile deal has panned out. Mbappe could have arrived at the Bernabeu in 2017 before signing for PSG instead. He could have then arrived in the summer of 2021, when PSG shut down multiple big money offers. Or, in 2022 when everybody was convinced that he would sign on a free transfer before the striker bowled to PSG pressure and renewed his contract .
Last June, Mbappe’s decision to not renew his contract with PSG — meaning he would be available in 2024 as a free agent — left Real Madrid hopeful of a deal. Yet, Mbappe stayed on in Paris. For months the speculation over his future remained before it became apparent from those within the player’s camp that he was finally ready to confirm his long-anticipated departure.
Why is Mbappe leaving PSG?
Born in Paris, Mbappe has spent seven seasons at PSG. In Ligue 1, he’s won everything on multiple occasions. What’s been missing from his and the club’s cabinet has been a Champions League medal/trophy. They came closest in 2020 when they lost to Bayern Munich in the final.
Individually, Mbappe has broken pretty much every individual club record possible — including surpassing Pedro Miguel Pauleta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edison Cavani as the top scorer in the club’s history with 244 goals.
Read | Why is Kylian Mbappe important to Paris Saint-Germain?
He has remained at PSG despite differences with the club over his future. He was dropped and sent to train on his own for two weeks. He missed the pre-season tour last summer, after making it clear he was not going to add third year to his contract.
The 25-year-old has also clashed with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, much of it over his contract situation. After Mbappe wrote to the club in June 2023 of his intentions to not sign another deal, PSG publicly declared they would listen to offers.
During the unveiling of Luis Enrique as manager last year, Al-Khelaifi spoke about PSG’s stance on their superstar: “I don’t want to repeat it every time: if Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract … We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free – we can’t do that. This is a French club.
“[Mbappé] said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it’s not my fault. We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, that’s very clear.”
In the end, the pull of Real Madrid, of European success has pushed Mbappe out of Parc des Princes. As a youngster, he wanted to wear the famous white shirt and play at the Estadio Bernabeu, and Mbappe felt now was the perfect time.
On a personal front, the lure of European glory and the political and marketing push of Real Madrid can go a long way in Mbappe’s desire to win personal accolades such as the Ballon d’Or.
What does it mean for Real Madrid?
For Real Madrid it means closure of a long-drawn chase. For club president Florentino Perez it is a personal win to bring one of the biggest stars on the planet, just a season after signing Jude Bellingham.
Real Madrid have long been suitors of Mbappe. They had an agreement two years ago but for the striker to do the go-around. Three years ago, Los Blancos offered €160 million with one year left on Mbappe’s contract but PSG brushed it off.
In 2017, Monaco accepted €150 million behind Mbappe’s back but for the World Cup-winner to sign for PSG instead for a reported €180 million. Even when Mbappe was 11, he trained with Madrid’s U-12 team only to come back to France instead.
But now that it’s happened it has come at a time when the club is working towards the future. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are 34 and 38 years old and unlikely to occupy the midfield for long. Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchoameni, all in their 20s, form the heart of the side.
Despite the public rejection, Madrid have stuck around with the knowledge that this is a player that is too good to be ignored, too good to be crossed off the wishlist. The club have been on the hunt for an elite forward since Cristiano Ronaldo and then Karim Benzema. Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu and Brahim Diaz have done well to step in and fill the void with 43 league goals between them but a club like Madrid needs the likes of Mbappe or Erling Haaland to not just win trophies but woo a global fan base.
Tanuj Lakhina wishes there were more hours in the day for sports to be played and watched.