The 25-year-old France captain informed PSG officials he
intends to leave in the summer at the end of his contract, a source close to
the Ligue 1 champions said Thursday.
Madrid are in pole position to sign a player whom they have
moved for several times in the past only to be rebuffed, although they declined
to comment when asked by AFP.
Spanish media report Madrid’s offer to Mbappe is lower than
in 2022 when he decided to renew his PSG contract, with Cadena SER saying he
wants 50 million euros ($54 million) gross a season along with a hefty 120
million euros signing-on bonus.
Media outlet Marca claimed that Mbappe has already informed
club bosses “that he only wanted to play for Real Madrid” and added that he
informed the Spanish giants of his decision to leave PSG on Tuesday, 48 hours
before it was revealed from a source close to PSG.
With the numbers and financial fair play impact left for
Madrid’s accountants to manage, supporters and local media are starting to
dream of what may come.
“The countdown has started,” wrote Marca earlier in the day.
“Seven years later everything points to Mbappe’s arrival
being a reality from July 1.”
Mbappe had the chance to join Madrid from Monaco in 2017 but
chose PSG instead, perhaps cowed by the difficulty of ousting Cristiano
Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or Karim Benzema from the attack.
Now he could lead the line alongside Vinicius Junior and
Jude Bellingham.
“That would be perfect,” Luis Caceres, the president of Real
Madrid’s fan club federation told AFP.
“He’s the best player in the world, that’s undeniable. We’ve
seen him play and we know what he can do, he’s a great player.”
Mbappe, yet to win the Champions League, could still cross
paths with record 14-time winners Madrid in this year’s competition.
Spanish newspaper AS say Madrid will “keep silent” on Mbappe
while the two sides are still competing in Europe.
Last June a Real Madrid fan did manage to lure club
president Florentino Perez into giving a clue away about Mbappe’s future.
Enrique Higueras, 22, stumbled across Perez outside a
restaurant and asked him if he would bring Mbappe to the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Yes, but not this year,” replied Perez.
Higueras, a student doctoring in sports science, told AFP he
believes Mbappe will succeed if and when he arrives.
“I am sure that he will play at Madrid and make history,”
said Higueras.
“I don’t think Madrid needs Mbappe to win the Champions
League… but obviously if Mbappe joins then the chances of winning that precious
trophy go up a lot.”
‘Bitterness’
However some supporters still recall Mbappe’s snub and
perceived slights since.
Oscar Movellan Martinez, a 42-year-old business consultant
and self-described “huge fan” of Madrid, said he was not happy with Mbappe
seemingly mocking Los Blancos after renewing his PSG deal.
“What happened in 2022 I can understand, for the pressure
the kid received… in the media all the way up to (French president Emmanuel)
Macron,” said Movellan.
“What I didn’t like was the attitude after… I understand
that he might have been pressured to renew with PSG when he wanted to come to
Madrid, but I don’t understand his reaction.”
If Mbappe does join Madrid in the summer then it may take a
few goals from PSG’s all-time top scorer to smooth things over.
“I think the fans at the Bernabeu will have a bit of
bitterness at the start, but look — it’s a fanbase that even whistled
(Zinedine) Zidane back in the day,” added Movellan.
Others are cautiously choosing not to trust Mbappe will join
until it is made official.
“Until I see him sign, I won’t believe it, after what
happened in 2022,” added Caceres.
AFP
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