Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez Jun 13, 2023 07:35 ET4 minutes read
Kylian Mbappe tells PSG he won’t renew his contract
Julien Laurens reports that Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe tells the club he will not extend his contract until 2025.
According to ESPN sources, Real Madrid are ready to make an offer for Kylian Mbappe this summer rather than waiting to sign him as a free agent when his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires next season.
Mbappe’s future is once again uncertain after L’Equipe reported on Monday that the striker had written to PSG to tell them he would not exercise his option to extend his contract for another year, meaning his contract expires in June 2024 would.
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Sources have told ESPN that PSG would be willing to listen to offers of around €150m ($161.5m) for Mbappe this summer lest they lose him on a free transfer a year later.
Mbappe released a statement via AFP on Tuesday, which said: “The board has been aware of my decision not to extend beyond 2024 since 15 July 2022 and the letter sent was intended only to confirm what I have already told them .”
Sources say Madrid are now on high alert and are looking for a centre-forward to replace Karim Benzema who joined Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad last week.
ESPN reported last week that Madrid see Tottenham’s Harry Kane as the best available option to replace Benzema, however there are doubts within the club about paying a hefty transfer fee for a player who turns 30 next month.
Madrid’s original plan for this summer was to sign a substitute for Benzema – something like Espanyol’s Joselu – before moving on to Mbappe or Erling Haaland in 2024.
Kylian Mbappe decided against joining Real Madrid last year to sign a new PSG contractXavier Laine/Getty Images
The LaLiga club have already signed Rayo Vallecano left-back Fran Garcia and playmaker Brahim Diaz – who has returned from a three-year loan spell at AC Milan – and have agreed to a deal with Borussia worth €103m ($111m ) plus variables Dortmund agreed for midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Sources told ESPN that it’s still too early to know what will happen to Mbappe but Madrid are ready to sign for him if PSG are ready to seriously consider a deal.
Madrid suspect PSG would do anything to move Mbappé to a club other than Los Blancos and any negotiations between the parties would not be easy.
Mbappe was a long-term target for Madrid and President Florentino Perez.
The France international was widely expected to join Spain on a free transfer last summer – after Madrid failed with multiple offers worth up to €200m ($216m) in 2021 – before Mbappe’s departure after a U-turn opted for an extension at PSG until 2024 with an option for another year.
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Mbappe has said he would like to stay in Paris next season but sources close to the PSG dressing room have told ESPN that six weeks ago he told his teammates he is not ruling out a departure this summer either.
PSG’s season has been a disappointment despite winning Ligue 1 after being knocked out by Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Mbappe was sixth in the 2022 Ballon d’Or rankings, well behind winner Benzema.
At PSG, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos have also confirmed their departures, while the club’s search for a new manager to replace Christophe Galtier continues.