Mueez Ajao
– Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has said he is optimistic that Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe will commit his future to the LaLiga giants in January.
– Mbappe will be a free agent next summer and will be able to sign with his future club on Jan. 1.
– “We hope that on Jan. 1 everything can be resolved,” Perez said on Tuesday when asked about Mbappe’s future.
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– However, Perez clarified his comments soon after in the French media, saying: “My words were misinterpreted. What I said is that we have to wait until next year … always with respect to PSG with whom we have good relations.”
– A long-term target of Madrid, Mbappe opened up on his future on Monday and confirmed he informed PSG of his intention to leave the club in July.
– “I wanted the club to receive a transfer fee to bring in a quality replacement,” Mbappe told RMC. “I said it early enough so that the club could react.
– “I wanted everyone to come out of this stronger, that we leave hand in hand, to make a good deal, and I respected that. I said, if you don’t want me to leave, I will stay.”
– The World Cup winner also told L’Equipe on Tuesday that he would only leave PSG to join Madrid and hinted that doubts remain around his future in France.
– PSG rejected a €200m offer from Madrid on transfer deadline day despite Mbappe having made it clear he did not wish to renew his contract with the French giants.
– Madrid were in a position to make that bid despite being hit by the coronavirus pandemic after careful financial management.
– Los Blancos have not spent on a first-team addition since the summer of 2019 but managed to offload Raphael Varane, Martin Odegaard and other players this summer.
– “Madrid have sold players for €200m,” LaLiga president Javier Tebas said last month. “They have money to sign both Mbappe and [Erling] Haaland. They have not lost money. On top of that, they have sold assets.”
– Madrid’s interest in Mbappe goes back to 2012, when he had a trial at the club on his 14th birthday.
– The Spanish giants wanted to sign Mbappe after he left AS Monaco in 2017, but he chose to join PSG in a €180m deal, which still stands as a world record fee for a teenager.
– The France international has won three league titles during his four years in Paris and finished as Ligue 1’s top scorer for three seasons in a row.
– Mbappe has scored four goals and set up five more in 11 appearances in all competitions for PSG this season.
