Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has affirmed that he has not yet decided his future. The 25-year-old, who serves as the captain of the French national team, has his contract with the Ligue 1 champions set to expire in the summer and has been heavily rumored to be considering a move to Real Madrid.
Mbappe conveyed to PSG in June that he would not exercise an option for an additional 12 months in his contract. Following PSG’s 2-0 victory over Toulouse in the French Champions Trophy, where Mbappe scored, he emphasized his strong motivation for the upcoming year, emphasizing the importance of pursuing titles. However, he clarified that he has not finalized his plans.
In discussions about his contract, Mbappe stated, “But in any case, with the agreement I made with the chairman [Nasser Al-Khelaifi] this summer, it doesn’t matter what I decide. We managed to protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead, which remains the most important thing. So we’ll say it’s secondary.”
Mbappe, who initially joined PSG in 2017 on loan from Monaco before making a €180m (£165.7m) permanent move, faced a situation where he was set to leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2021-22 season. However, he signed a two-year contract extension with the option for an additional year. After rejecting the 12-month extension, he was not selected for PSG’s pre-season tour to Japan.
Despite a world-record £259m offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, Mbappe refused to engage with their representatives. Subsequently, he resumed first-team training after “very constructive and positive” talks with PSG.
Reflecting on his decision-making timeline, Mbappe mentioned his previous contract extension in May 2022, stating, “If I know what I want to do, why drag it out? It just doesn’t make sense.”
In the context of transfer discussions, Barcelona manager Xavi acknowledged that players of Mbappe’s caliber are currently beyond the club’s financial reach. He commented, “I have to deal with the players I have because right now we are not able to think about those kinds of signings. Unfortunately, we are not in a privileged situation economically to do that. I am left with the players I have, and with those players, we have to win.”
