MY ACCOUNT
Kylian Mbappe has revealed he asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain in July amid interest from Real Madrid as he wanted the Ligue 1 side to receive a transfer fee.
The France international was repeatedly linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu during the most recent transfer window after entering the final year of his contract.
Madrid are reported to have had three bids turned down for the France international in July and August, the last one said to be worth up to €200million.
Speaking about his future in detail for the first time, Mbappe confirmed in an interview with RMC Sport, which will be released in full on Tuesday, that he does not intend to sign a new deal at the Parc des Princes.
“I asked to leave,” he said. “From the moment where I did not want to extend, I wanted for the club to receive a transfer fee so that they could bring in a quality replacement.
“This club has given me a lot. I have always been happy across the four years I have had here, and I still am. 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 go, I will stay.”
Mbappe was reported to have rejected multiple offers of a new deal in the French capital, but the superstar forward has denied that was the case.
“People said I turned down six or seven extension offers, that I don’t want to talk to [sporting director] Leonardo anymore – that’s absolutely not true,” he said.
“It’s not for me to judge, but my position was clear. I said that I wanted to leave and I said it quite early.
“Me, personally, I did not appreciate too much the fact of ‘yes, he’s [saying he wants to leave] in the last week of August…’ because I said at the end of July that I wanted to leave.”
Since joining PSG from Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in August 2017 on an initial loan that was made permanent a year later, Mbappe has scored 136 goals in 182 games.
That is a tally bettered by only Cristiano Ronaldo (149), now team-mate Lionel Messi (163) and Robert Lewandowski (191) across that period among players from Europe’s top five leagues in all competitions.
Mbappe’s 61 assists over the same timeframe is the sixth-highest total, meanwhile, with Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller leading the way with 75.
The 22-year-old has made a largely underwhelming start to the 2021-22 campaign, however, having scored only four goals in 11 appearances, though he does have five assists.
That includes a run of 17 shots without scoring in Ligue 1 since netting against Clermont Foot on September 11.
