PARIS ( Associated Press) — Kylian Mbappe has signed a new three-year contract to stay at Paris Saint-Germain after one of football’s most iconic players turned down an opportunity to join Real Madrid again. A person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Saturday.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss contract negotiations.
The World Cup winning forward’s contract expires in June and would have been available on a free transfer.
Instead of joining 13-time European champions Madrid, who have followed him for so long, 23-year-old Mbappe is looking to help PSG win their first Champions League title.
Madrid managed to beat PSG in the Champions League this season but once again not in the transfer market.
The Spanish giant’s failure to sign Mbappe is a significant blow to its chairman Florentino Perez, who has been trying to get a transfer on the line for a year.
PSG turned down Madrid’s official bid of 180 million euros ($190 million) – having signed Mbappé from Monaco in 2017 for the same amount – and even a 200 million euro ($211 million) And the amount was not enough to sell his star despite his being. He has only one year left on his contract. Mbappé said he wanted to leave at the end of last season but only on the right terms for PSG.
The Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund ownership of the club associated with the emir allows PSG to oppose bids that may prove irresistible to other clubs without state funding.
Refers to the dynamics of transfer power in non-transfer European football. Perez was one of the architects of the European Super League breakaway from the UEFA Champions League, which exploded within 48 hours in April 2021.
PSG opted to join the 12 Super League founders, allowing its president Nasser al-Khelaifi to achieve one of the most powerful roles in the sport as head of the European Club Association.
Perez is still pursuing his Super League dream in a clash with UEFA.
Meanwhile, Spanish league president Javier Tebas was furious.
“It is a disgrace to football that PSG Mbappe with huge amounts of money (who knows where and how they will pay them) after losing 700 million euros and over 600 million euros in salary in the recent season going to renew.” He wrote on Twitter: “Al-Khelafi is as dangerous as the Super League.”
Mbappe, who starred for France at the 2018 World Cup, was signing a statement for Perez – especially if he had moved Mbappe away from a team that had been a rival through its Qatari funding over the past decade. had emerged.
But the energy spent pushing the transfer, and optimism from Madrid, who are chasing their record-extending 14th European Cup win when they meet Liverpool in next Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris, are anything but has not come.
When Mbappe won the league’s best player award for the third time last Sunday, he said his mind was originally made up, but did not specify which way.
Tensions between the clubs were evident when PSG were knocked out in the Champions League round of 16 by Madrid in March – despite leading 2–0 on aggregate with two Mbappe goals – and Al-Khelaifi reportedly playing the match. UEFA remained under investigation for facing the authorities. after the defeat.
After leaving Monaco in 2017 – and even before that, Madrid is again being thwarted when it tried to sign Mbappe.
He visited Madrid’s facilities at the age of 14, and was welcomed by the French great Zinedine Zidane, but he decided to start his illustrious career in Monaco instead.
Mbappe’s first professional goal came at the age of 17 years, 62 days, breaking Thierry Henry’s Monaco club record.
Henri is France’s record scorer with 51. Mbappe is already at 26 and PSG can overtake him as a player.
He is PSG’s second highest scorer with 168 and could surpass Edinson Cavani’s record of 200 next season.
He was looking to add to his league-leading tally of 25 on Saturday at the Parc des Princes against struggling Metz, teammate Lionel Messi – a record seven-time Ballon d’Or winner – and Neymar.
The scintillating attacking trio, who have not performed as expected this season, will play together again next season.
However, Mbappé misses out on a chance to play for Madrid alongside France teammate Karim Benzema, a disastrous partnership that would be the envy of Europe. They have been prolific together for Les Blaes over the past year and the two netted when France won the Nations League final.
One of the world’s most iconic young forwards is Erling Haaland, who is leaving Borussia Dortmund for English powerhouse Manchester City.
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Harris reported from Manchester, England.
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