Mbappe decided to join Real Madrid in DECEMBER

Stuart Telford

• 25 Feb 2024 11:45 GMT
• 3 min read

Kylian Mbappe claimed in January that he hadn't "made up his mind yet" about his Paris Saint-Germain future amid ongoing interest from Real Madrid, but l'Equipe claim this was untrue…

Mbappe to Real Madrid become a transfer saga, the player first agreeing to join the record European champions in 2022 before U-turning to extend his stay in Paris, becoming the best-paid player in the world in the process.

But this season a move to the Bernabeu has begun to look inevitable. Mbappe is out of contract at the end of the campaign, and he was excluded from PSG's pre-season tour of Asia when he refused to extend, before making a comeback.

The French talisman has since scored 32 goals from 31 games in all competitions, but they will be among his last with Mbappe since confirming that he would be leaving the Parc des Princes for good in June - almost certainly for Real.

Mbappe's decision 'wasn't recent'

"At what moment did he decide not to extend his PSG contract?" asks Hugo Delom in l'Equipe. "Was it on the far-flung family trip to Lapland in December, or much earlier, in the middle of last summer?

"As the weeks pass now one thing is clear: his decision was not recent. When he appeared to the press in January to explain he 'hadn't yet decided' he was bending the truth. By December, who already knew he was leaving for Real Madrid."

Madrid will be getting the third-most valuable player in the world on a free per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, with only Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland tagged higher than his €122.5 million valuation.

Whilst it will sting PSG not receiving a cent for such a player, they will reportedly shed an estimated €200m from their wage bill with his departure.

Mbappe will play his first game since announcing his intent to leave when PSG take on Rennes on Sunday afternoon.