Mbappe asked to leave PSG in the summer
Stefan Bienkowski
- Updated: 4 Oct 2021 15:06 BST
Kylian Mbappe has confirmed that he directly asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain during the last transfer window.
The France international was the subject of intense speculation throughout the summer transfer window and was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
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Towards the end of the window, the Spanish side stunned the world of football by lodging an official bid of €180 million for the player, which was later rejected by PSG.
With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Mbappe is now expected to run down his contract and make the move to Spain for free in the summer.
And that has now been all but confirmed by the player, who has revealed that he did ask to leave the club in July.
"I asked to leave, because from the moment I didn't want to extend, I wanted the club to have a transfer fee to have a quality replacement," said Mbappe in an interview with RMC Sport.
"It's a club that has given me a lot, I've always been happy, the four years I spent here, and I still am. I announced it early enough so that the club could look back.
"People have said that I have turned down six or seven offers for an extension, that I don't want to talk to Leonardo anymore, that is absolutely not true. People say to me 'Kylian now you speak with the president.'
"I'm not the one to judge, but my position was clear. I said that I wanted to leave and I said it early on.
“Personally, I didn't really appreciate Paris Saint-Germain saying 'He is asking to leave in the last week of August…' because that is wrong," added Mbappe.
"It made me feel like a thief. I informed them early, at the end of July."
Why does Mbappe want to leave PSG?
Like all players, Mbappe may have finally grown tired of winning the same trophies over and over again.
Since coming through at Monaco, the striker has won four Ligue 1 titles and three French Cup titles. And he may now wish to test himself in another league.
Despite reaching the final with PSG last season, the striker may also prefer to move to a club with a longer history attached to the Champions League and at Madrid the striker would be the leading figure at a club that is synonymous with the continental competition.
On a similar note, the young striker would also be Madrid's main star and would no longer need to share the limelight with other key players like Neymar and Lionel Messi.
