Paris : Kylian Mbappe celebrated with fans at Parc des Princes then scored a hat trick after signing a new three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain and turning down the chance again to join Real Madrid.
Before PSG beat Metz 5-0 in its final home game, France’s World Cup-winning star stood on a platform near the center circle to address fans. ‘I’m very happy to continue this adventure, to stay in France, in Paris, my city. I always said Paris was my home,’ Mbappe said. ‘I hope I will continue doing what I love the most, which is to carry on playing football and winning trophies.’ Mbappe then held up a PSG jersey with 2025 written on it as he stood alongside president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who had just announced the new deal.
I have some very good news to give you. Kylian Mbappe is going to stay until 2025,’ said Al-Khelaifi, barely heard as fans chanted Mbappe’s name over and over. ‘Kylian’s commitment to PSG represents an amazing milestone in the history of our club.’ The PSG contract of one of soccer’s most coveted players was expiring in June, and MbappĂ© would have been available on a free transfer.
But instead of joining 13-time European champion Madrid, which has chased him for so long, MbappĂ© decided to stay to try to deliver PSG its first Champions League title. Madrid managed to beat PSG in the Champions League this season but not in the transfer market once again. The Spanish giant’s failure to sign MbappĂ© was a significant blow for its president, Florentino PĂ©rez, who has been trying to get the transfer over the line for a year.
PSG turned down Madrid’s official bid of 180 million euros ($190 million) â the same amount it signed MbappĂ© for from Monaco in 2017 â and even another reported amount of 200 million euros ($211 million) was not enough to sell its star despite him having only a year remaining on his contract. MbappĂ© said he wanted to leave at the end of last season but only on the right terms for PSG.
The wealth of the club’s Qatar sovereign wealth fund ownership linked to the emir allows PSG to resist bids that could be irresistible to other clubs without state funding. The non-transfer reflects the shifting power dynamics in European football. PĂ©rez was one of the architects of the European Super League breakaway from the UEFA Champions League that imploded within 48 hours in April 2021.