Today, at the start of 2024, Kylian Mbappe begins the final six months of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), meaning that at the end of the year he will be able to negotiate with clubs interested in signing him on a free transfer this year Deal.
At 25, Mbappe is already a World Cup winner, runner-up and Golden Boot winner and is widely considered one of the best soccer players in the world. His future has also been the subject of intense and protracted speculation, with the Frenchman frequently flirting with Real Madrid and falling out with PSG.
At some point in the near future, Mbappe will have to decide whether to extend his contract in Paris (which he declined last summer), move to Madrid (which he almost did in the summer of 2022) or move somewhere else (something he decided against , when he rejected advances from Saudi Arabia in August last year).
The Athletic reported on Friday that Madrid are preparing for another move for Mbappe, but a lot has changed since the pursuit began.
Our Mario Cortegana and Adam Crafton explain the background and what Madrid, PSG and Mbappe think about a saga that may finally be coming to an end.
What is Mbappe's situation at PSG – didn't they kiss and make up in the summer?
Yes, but they fall out and make up every summer before falling out again. To recap: Mbappe had one year left on his contract in the summer of 2023 and informed PSG in writing that he would not exercise the option of an extension.
Therefore, PSG declared, at least for a few weeks, that they would sell Mbappe immediately so as not to lose him on a free transfer unless he was willing to sign another contract extension. And so he was briefly thrown into the “attic” – a term used to describe PSG's unwanted players who were left behind while the rest went on the club's pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
PSG once threatened to sideline Mbappe for the entire season until the 2024 European Championship finals, when he would have to be fit and performing for the French team, of which he is now captain. However, the two parties relented in mid-August when Mbappe returned to first-team training.
Since then he has scored 18 league goals for the French champions. However, he did not sign an extension.
Mbappe also rejected a move to Saudi Arabia when Al Hilal made a world record offer of $332 million (£260 million) to bring him into the Saudi Pro League.
Discussions took place between Mbappe, his parents, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and their sports advisor Jorge Campos.
A reported compromise at the time was to reach an agreement under which Mbappe would waive certain loyalty bonuses to allow his return to PSG's first team without signing a contract extension.
Adam Crafton
Real Madrid still want him?
Madrid's interest in Mbappé has never gone away. Contact between the parties has not yet been completely broken off and the Spanish club has already given Mbappe a deadline of mid-January to form an opinion on his future.
The events of last summer – when Madrid thought they had found their man but Mbappe then agreed a new contract with PSG – have changed the nature of their interest. There are important voices at the 14-time European champion who are now not convinced, from a sporting and, above all, financial perspective, that signing Mbappé is what their project needs.
The rising costs of extensive renovations at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium have limited the club's spending power and Madrid want to ensure they book a profit every year – which they have also managed to do during the pandemic. Some are also aware that Mbappe's arrival would disrupt harmony in the dressing room – particularly when it comes to payroll.
While Jude Bellingham settled in quickly and without fuss in Madrid after his move last summer, would Mbappe do the same? His many controversies at PSG and with the French national team, where he plays with several players from the Madrid team, have raised doubts among the board as to whether the excessive power he was given in Paris could end up being a problem for them.
Therefore, the scenario now is different than in 2022 or 2023 and accordingly Madrid's offer would also be different. The timelines aren't the same either – Madrid would like to sign Mbappe to avoid them coming up short again in May or June, as happened last year.
Then it would be time for the crucial phase: negotiations between Jose Angel Sanchez, the general manager of Madrid, and Fayza Lamari and Delphine Verheyden, Mbappe's mother and lawyer respectively.
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It should be noted that Lamari was annoyed with Florentino Perez and accused the Madrid club's president of telling the Spanish press that Mbappe's signing for her was done to put pressure on her son. Nevertheless, Mbappe's mother was impressed by the nature of Sanchez, who would be the main interlocutor in future negotiations.
Mario Cortegana
What do we know about what PSG wants?
PSG would ideally like Mbappe to stay with them for the best years of his career.
They have promised him hundreds of millions of euros in transfer fees and wages since the original move from Monaco in 2017, and a player who has won a World Cup and scored a hat-trick in another World Cup final remains a valuable asset. The club is also in advanced talks to extend the contract of Ethan Mbappe, 17, Kylian's younger brother.
Mbappe with brother and teammate Ethan in December (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
PSG have prepared budgets and plans in case both Mbappe stays and leaves. The club says they won't be forced to overpay this time, but we know they have a track record of doing just that when it comes to this player.
If Mbappe were to leave alone they would save more than €40m in wages every year, while Al-Khelaifi would undoubtedly call it a political masterstroke if he could somehow persuade the Paris-born striker to sign another contract extension after he had previously rejected Madrid at least twice before.
Adam Crafton
And what does Mbappe want?
Only he knows where he wants to play his football in the long term.
There are still rumors in his circle that he wants to play for Madrid and the player is in direct contact with Perez, probably the most important supporter of his signing – despite everything that has happened in recent years.
But at the Bernabeu some believe the first step must be taken by the player himself: he commits to joining them, decides to stay in Paris or talks to other clubs – but only he can really decide his future.
Mario Cortegana
(Top photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)