‘I was sure that Kylian was going to stay’: PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi insists Mbappe never wanted to leave the club despite interest from Real Madrid and claims he rejected a £155m offer despite the striker being available for free
- Real Madrid believed they had agreed a deal to sign Kylian Mbappe last month
- But the forward stunned the world and signed a new three-year deal at PSG
- PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi claims he always knew Mbappe would stay
- He says the 23-year-old is interested in the club’s ‘sports project’ and not money
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi claims that he always knew Kylian Mbappe would stay at the club this summer despite interest from Real Madrid.
The LaLiga side believed they had agreed a deal to sign the forward last month as his contract in Paris was expiring – only for him to stun the world and sign a new three-year deal in the French capital.
Mbappe will earn a staggering £650,000-a-week until June 2025, making him one of the highest paid players in the world. He will also have control over image rights and receive a £126million signing-on bonus.
Kylian Mbappe snubbed Real Madrid and signed a new three-year contract at PSG last month
However, Al-Khelaifi insists that money was not important in extending the 23-year-old’s contract. He also claims that Real Madrid made PSG a late offer of £155million to sign Mbappe, despite him being available for free.
‘He is our player and he had other clubs in England besides Madrid, but he has chosen PSG and we have not spoken with him or with his family about his money until the last moment,’ Al-Khelaifi told Marca.
‘I have great respect for Real Madrid as a club, it’s a great club, but Kylian has never decided to renew for the money. They made an offer of €170million (£146m) and €180million (£155m). Which means that Madrid’s offer plus his salary was already better than ours.
The forward was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid as his previous PSG deal ran down
But PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi claims he always knew Mbappe would stay at the club
‘I turned down €180million and they told me I was crazy. People I trusted, because he could go for free, but I did it because I was sure that Kylian was going to stay…