A year ago he really wanted to go to Real Madrid, but now he’s staying at Paris St. Germain. Kylian Mbappé (23) declared his change of heart on Monday.
In a good mood at the contract extension press conference: Kylian Mbappé.
picture alliance / DPPI media
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He made no secret of the fact that he had thought very differently just a month ago. “A year ago I would never have thought that I would be sitting here today,” said Kylian Mbappé on Monday at his press conference called specifically to extend the contract. “The best possible decision for me at the time was to leave.” But PSG wouldn’t let him despite the 200 million offer from Los Blancos – and now the highly talented attacker has extended his contract until 2025 after all.
“The context is different now,” Mbappé explained his change of heart. “Of course, that includes the sporting conditions, but it’s also important to me to stay in France, where I grew up – that’s a sentimental aspect. (…) I hope the Real fans understand that I’m in my I want to stay in the country. I’m French and as a French I want to stay here and take the club and the league forward.”
“No ambitions” for the captaincy
However, something has also changed in the “sporting project,” said Mbappé, without specifying this exactly. However, he explicitly did not include the prospect of being able to continue to form a three-man storm with Lionel Messi and Neymar. “PSG has a lot of very good players, but so does Real. They’re both big clubs, individual players didn’t make the decision,” said Mbappé, but also added: “Playing with players like that is what it is I always wanted.”
A promised role as captain was also not part of the agreement with PSG. Although Mbappé “wanted to take on more responsibility on the field,” he had “no ambitions to become a captain. That’s not a priority for me. There is only one captain in each team, ours is Marquinhos. I don’t have to be a captain to To take responsibility.”
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The issue of image rights also only played a subordinate role. According to media reports, Real wanted to leave this to him completely, but PSG had resisted. “We talked for months about the sporting project and a few minutes about the image rights,” Mbappé explained. “A lot has changed in sponsorship, a lot has changed in the world of football. I want to manage my career as well as possible, not revolutionize football.”
PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: “We never had a problem with Kylian and his image rights”. In general, there is a “strong connection” between “the best player in the world” and the club. “You can’t understand that now, but you will in the future,” he said to the journalists present.
Mbappé does not rule out a later Real change
The final decision for PSG – and against Real Madrid – was made in the last week, Mbappé reported. After that, they were kept under lock and key for a few days – even from their teammates. “I didn’t tell the team about the decision because the club didn’t want it,” said the 2018 world champion. “We wanted to keep it a secret, as a surprise. It wasn’t a big surprise anymore because you found out.” , he said towards the media representatives. Neymar, Messi & Co. only found out about their colleague’s whereabouts on the television in the dressing room before the final game of the season against Metz (5-0).
The attacker did not rule out that Mbappé will still play for Real Madrid in his career. “If I’ve learned anything about football, it’s that you can’t look too far ahead,” he said. “Right now I’m just looking at my new contract and focusing on our new project, on a new era for the club, on the next three years. But I don’t know where I will be after that.”
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