Just a year ago he was desperate to join Real Madrid, but now he is staying at Paris St Germain. On Monday, Kylian Mbappé (23) explained his change of mind.
He made no secret of the fact that he had a completely different opinion last month. “A year ago I would never have thought that I was sitting here today,” Kylian Mbappé said on Monday at his press conference specially convened for the contract extension. “The best possible decision at that time for me was to leave.” But PSG wouldn’t let him, despite a 200 million offer from the Royals – and now the highly-touted attacker has extended his contract until 2025 after all.
“The context is different now,” Mbappé explained his change of heart. “Part of it is obviously the sporting conditions, but it’s also important for me to stay in France, where I grew up – that’s a sentimental aspect. (…) I hope that Real fans understand that I want to stay in my country. I’m French and, as a Frenchman, I want to stay here and promote the club and the league. “
“No ambitions” for captaincy
However, the “sporting project has also changed”, Mbappé said, without specifying. However, he explicitly did not include the prospect of continuing to form a three-man forward with Lionel Messi and Neymar. “There are many very good players at PSG, but also at Real. They are both big clubs, individual players were not the deciding factor in the decision,” Mbappé said, but also added: “Playing with players like that is what I’ve always wanted. “
A captaincy that had been promised was also not part of the agreement with PSG. While Mbappé wants to “take on more responsibility on the field”, he has “no ambition to be captain. It’s not a priority for me. There is only one captain in each team, ours is Marquinhos. I don’t have to be captain to take responsibility.”
Likewise, the issue of image rights had only played a minor role. According to media reports, Real wanted to give them 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 best I can, not revolutionise football. “
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: “We never had a problem with Kylian and his image rights.” In general, he said, there was a “strong connection” between “the best player in the world” and the club. “You can’t understand that now, but in the future you will,” he addressed the journalists present.
Mbappé does not rule out a Real switch at a later date
The final decision for PSG – and against Real Madrid – was made last week, Mbappé reported further. After that, he said, it was kept under wraps for a few more days – even from his teammates. “I didn’t tell the team about the decision because the club didn’t want me to,” the 2018 World Cup winner said. “We wanted to keep it a secret, as a surprise. Then it wasn’t the big surprise because you found out,” he said towards the media representatives. According to the statement, Neymar, Messi & Co. would only have found out about their colleague’s whereabouts on the TV in the dressing room before the final game of the season against Metz (5-0).
The attacker did not rule out the possibility of Mbappé playing for Real Madrid in his career after all. “If I’ve learned anything in football, it’s that you can’t look too far ahead,” he said. “I’m just looking at my new contract now 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. “
