Mbappe snubs Real Madrid to stay at PSG

Kylian Mbappe said he was “very happy” to stay at Paris Saint-Germain after the club’s president announced yesterday the World Cup winner was rejecting Real Madrid to remain in France until 2025.
“I am very happy to stay in France, in Paris, in my city,” Mbappe told supporters on the Parc des Princes pitch before PSG faced Metz in their final Ligue 1 match of the season.
Standing next to PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi, Mbappe said: “I wanted to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain, and I am of course very happy. I am convinced that here I can continue to grow within a club that gives itself all the means to perform at the highest level. I am also very happy to be able to continue playing in France, the country where I was born, grew up and flourished.”
Mbappe and club president al-Khelaifi posed holding a “Mbappe 2025” PSG shirt as the crowd erupted when al-Khelaifi broke the news at the Parc des Princes. Mbappe marked his announcement by scoring twice in five minutes to take his total of league goals for the season to 27, putting him on course to finish as Ligue 1’s leading scorer for a fourth consecutive season.
Mbappe’s decision ends months of speculation surrounding arguably the hottest property in world football.
Real Madrid had pursued Mbappe for months and had reportedly agreed a deal with him months ago for a switch to Spain which would have included a signing-on fee of 150mn euros ($158mn). Mbappe had made no secret of his desire to play one day for Real, who will face Liverpool in the Champions League final in Paris next weekend after securing a 35th Spanish title.
But PSG, who have won the Ligue 1 title for a record-equalling tenth time but angered their hardcore supporters with their limp exit to Real in the last 16 of the Champions League, have battled to hold on to their biggest asset.
Mbappe will now line up next season alongside Neymar and probably Lionel Messi – if he stays at the club – to help PSG in their protracted quest to land the Champions League, the title that has so far eluded them.
Mbappe joined PSG on a season-long loan from Monaco in August 2017 that turned into a permanent deal worth 180 million euros. He has helped the club win four Ligue 1 titles in five seasons. In the Champions League exit to Real this season, Mbappe scored in both legs of the tie, but could not prevent PSG from losing 3-2 on aggregate.
He will be a key figure when France attempt to defend the World Cup in November and December.
PSG had been reinforced last year with the signing of Lionel Messi from Barcelona to add firepower to a star-studded squad. But apart from reclaiming the Ligue 1 title, the French club failed to win any other trophies. Mbappe, however, excelled individually, scoring 38 goals and providing 26 assists for PSG in all competitions this season.