PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has finally broken the silence on Kylian Mbappe's decision to stay with the Ligue 1 winners, rebuffing Real Madrid's offer at the last minute.
Making a shock revelation about the player, Al-Khelaifi said that Mbappe never really wanted to leave the French outfit even though he made attempts to join Real Madrid last summer.
Mbappe was also on the brink of shifting his base to the Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent this summer before the Afro-French player stunned the world by extending his tenure in Paris.
"I rejected €180 million ($190 million) last summer from Real Madrid for Mbappe because I knew that Kylian wanted to stay at PSG," he told Marca. "I know him very well, I know what he and his family want, and they don't move for money. He has chosen to play here for his city," Al-Khelaifi added.
Al-Khelaifi's disclosure comes in the backdrop of Real's mounting criticism of Mbappe with both the supporters of 14-time European champions and the club's president Florentino Perez taking multiple digs at the 23-year-old football star in recent days.
Just a couple of days ago, Perez had called Mbappe a "poor man", while the club's fans had insulted him, calling him a "son of a bi*ch".
Mbappe's latest deal with PSG, however, will make him the highest-paid footballer in the world, ahead of his Parc des Princes colleagues Neymar and Lionel Messi.
He is set to receive $63 million in annual wages from PSG, more than double the amount he was previously getting at the club. In addition to that, PSG would pay him $155 million as a signing bonus.
Moreover, he will also have full control over his image rights, which are estimated to be worth $75 million.