Kylian Mbappe has opened up on his failed attempt to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid and says lies have been told regarding his desire to leave the club.
Mbappe has entered the final season of his contract at PSG and was subject of interest from Real Madrid during the summer, with the forward having informed the Ligue 1 side of his desire to leave for the Spanish capital.
PSG turned down a series of bids from Real Madrid for his services, including a deadline day offer in the region of €200m (£172m) for the France international, who now looks set to leave the club on a free transfer next summer at the expiry of his contract.
Mbappe has now opened up on his failed move to Spain and has insisted his request to leave came much earlier in the window than revealed by PSG, admitting he was keen to leave the club on amicable terms and ensure the Parisians secured the fee required to sign a replacement.
“I asked to leave, because from the moment I did not want to extend, I wanted the club to have a transfer fee to have a quality replacement,” he told RMC Sport.
“It is a club which brought me a lot, I have always been happy, the four years that I spent here, and I still am. I announced it early enough that the club can turn around. I wanted everyone to come out grown up, to go out hand in hand, to make a good deal, and I respected that. I said, if you don’t don’t want me to leave, I will stay.
“People said I turned down six or seven extension offers, that I don’t want to talk to Leonardo anymore, that’s absolutely not true. I’m told ‘Kylian now you’re talking to the president.’”
“It is not for me to judge, but me, 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 say ‘yes, he’s coming the last week of August …’ because that’s a lie. I said at the end of July that I wanted to leave. ”
PSG decided against selling Mbappe as the club seek to win the Champions League this season, with the forward forming part of a forward line containing both Neymar and summer signing Lionel Messi.
The 22-year-old will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid from January however, with Mbappe expected to move to the Bernabeu on a free transfer in 2022.
