Aurelien Tchouameni: Kylian Mbappe tried to sign me

Carlo Garganese

• 14 Jun 2022 07:30 CDT
• 3 min read

Aurelien Tchouameni has revealed that he rejected the advances of Kylian Mbappe in order to sign for Real Madrid.

Last week, Madrid completed the signing of Tchouameni from Monaco in a deal estimated to be worth more than €100 million.

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He signed a six-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The French midfielder had attracted interest from Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain ― who failed in a late attempt to hijack the deal ― but always had his heart set on a move to Spain.

Tchouameni was officially presented to the media as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday and he revealed that he rejected the advances of Kylian Mbappe, who wanted him to sign for PSG.

What did Tchouameni say?

“I am very happy to be here and begin my story with Real Madrid, the best club in the world,” Tchouameni said alongside president Florentino Perez.

“I am very happy and ready to work hard and continue winning titles for this club. I want to thank the president, my agent and my family for being here.

“I spoke with Eduardo Camavinga when the news came out in the press. He is very happy that I am here. Karim Benzema is the best striker in the world. When everything started to move forward he wrote to me and told me everything about the club.

“Kylian decided to stay at PSG. He wanted to know if I could sign for PSG but he understood that I signed for Real Madrid and he's happy for me.

“I had already spoken with other teams but I was waiting for the call from Real Madrid and the time came. I talked to everyone to find the best deal and now I'm a player for this club and it's wonderful.”

Tchouameni made 95 appearances in all competitions for Monaco, scoring eight times, after signing from Bordeaux in January 2020 for €20m.

He has also been capped 12 times by the France national team, scoring once, and is expected to play a big role in the upcoming World Cup alongside Camavinga, Benzema and Mbappe.