What Does Mbappe's Rejection of PSG's New Contract Offer Mean for Real Madrid & Spanish Football?
10:56 GMT 25.02.2022 (Updated: 11:44 GMT 10.12.2022)
© REUTERS / BENOIT TESSIER
Subscribe
For nearly a year, Kylian Mbappe's future has been in the spotlight, with the Frenchman being rumoured to move to Real Madrid. After a prolonged yes-no situation, the prodigious footballer seems to have made up his mind, with Paris no longer the place where he will stay next season.
World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has ended Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) hopes of having him in their squad next season after the 23-year-old star rebuffed their latest contract offer, Spanish website Marca reported.
According to the publication, Mbappe was handed a "blank cheque" to continue his association with the former Ligue 1 champions, but the France international declined it, despite having favourable clauses in the deal.
PSG had proposed a two-year extension to his present contract, but was given the freedom to depart from the club any time after the World Cup in Qatar in December.
With Mbappe rejecting PSG's latest deal, his lifelong dream of playing for Real Madrid is on the verge of being fulfilled.
It is a no-brainer that the Paris-born player would move to Spain, considering he has long admired Los Blancos and where his childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo became an ultimate footballing great.
According to the publication, Mbappe was handed a "blank cheque" to continue his association with the former Ligue 1 champions, but the France international declined it, despite having favourable clauses in the deal.
PSG had proposed a two-year extension to his present contract, but was given the freedom to depart from the club any time after the World Cup in Qatar in December.
With Mbappe rejecting PSG's latest deal, his lifelong dream of playing for Real Madrid is on the verge of being fulfilled.
It is a no-brainer that the Paris-born player would move to Spain, considering he has long admired Los Blancos and where his childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo became an ultimate footballing great.
Moreover, even the Spanish outfit's president Florentino Perez rates him highly and wants to bring him to Madrid at any cost. Hence, the admiration seems to be mutual.
Mbappe’s arrival in Madrid is almost certain to raise interest in La Liga, which is still reeling from the after-effects of Lionel Messi’s shock exit from Barcelona last year.
Mbappe’s arrival in Madrid is almost certain to raise interest in La Liga, which is still reeling from the after-effects of Lionel Messi’s shock exit from Barcelona last year.
While there was a time when both Messi and Ronaldo featured in Spain’s top flight and at times battled each other in El Clasico derbies between Barca and Real, the league hasn’t had a marquee player since then.
But Mbappe could fill that void and La Liga could once again attain the glorious heights of the Messi-CR7 era.
Former Indian midfielder Mehtab Hossain reckons that Mbappe's switch to Madrid could revitalise Spanish football during this age of the pandemic.
"Mbappe is a player who cannot remain in anybody's shadow. Even after Messi joined PSG, he has created his own path and brand there and that's why I feel he will create his own legacy at Real Madrid too", Hossain told Sputnik on Friday.
