I’m sure you’ve all heard the news by now…how can you not? it’s been the talk of the week and trending on X (formerly twitter) for good reason. The French sensation Kylian Mbappé has confirmed with PSG manager Luis Enrique and the rest of the club that he will be leaving the French capital in the summer. This sounds all too familiar because we’ve been hearing these rumours every summer transfer window since 2017. However, this time it’s more than just rumours.
Over the last couple of seasons, Los Blancos have relentlessly attempted to acquire the forward’s signature and whenever it felt like the deal was almost done, PSG would offer the Frenchman a counter proposal to match the wages that Madrid had put on the table. However, this time Mbappé has made his intentions of leaving Paris very clear as he stated he does not want to be offered any contract proposal from PSG and that he will be leaving as a free agent in the summer. This information has been broadcasted by trusted news networks like Sky Sports, Marca and of course football’s most trusted journalist — Fabrizio Romano.
Why has Mbappé decided to leave PSG this year?
The Frenchman joined PSG as an 18-year old teenager after helping Monaco win Ligue 1 and reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in the same season. Top clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid wanted to sign the wonder kid, however at the time PSG had just signed Neymar for a gargantuan fee and began building a project with the aims of eventually dominating Europe and wining the UCL. Naturally, this project looked appealing to a young footballer who was eager to make a name for himself on the world stage.
According to PSG’s assistant sporting director Luis Ferrer, Unai Emery (PSG manager at the time) played a crucial part in convincing the Frenchman to make the move to Paris. The French prodigy initially joined PSG on a one-year loan deal and after the success of winning the domestic treble in his first season at the club, he decided to sign a four-year contract, converting the loan into a permanent transfer.
During his tenure at the club, there were numerous things going on behind the scenes like disagreements between himself and Neymar, lack of quality players coming into the club and the repeated sacking of managers. All these factors played a part in disrupting the locker room and resulted in poor performances on the pitch. Despite all this, PSG continued winning domestic trophies and even reached the UCL final in the 2019/20 season, however came up short against Bayern Munich.
The longer Mbappé stayed at PSG, the more obvious it became to him that he would not win the Champions League. He wanted to leave in 2022 but PSG managed to convince him to stay with a contract proposal I don’t think anyone could refuse. Messi, Neymar, Ramos and other star players have already departed PSG and since then, the striker mentioned that he regrets signing that contract extension and has set his mind on finally leaving Paris. Who can blame him? he milked all the money he could from PSG, won every possible domestic trophy along with individual awards and even set new records.
It’s also obvious that the current PSG squad is nowhere near its predecessors, at the moment Kylian is single-handedly carrying PSG, makes you wonder where they would be in the league table without him. It was always apparent to us fans that the French sensation has all the potential to become the world’s best player and maybe even an all-time legend but he was never going to fulfil that potential by staying in the French capital. It looks like the Frenchman has come to the same realisation and is ready to take the next step in his career.
Possible destinations for Mbappé
Since the news broke out last week, inevitably all signs seem to be pointing to Real Madrid as Mbappé’s next club. This very well might be the case, however there are other possible options. After all, he has rejected the Spanish giants on numerous occasions previously.
Manchester City — of course the treble-winners have to be on this list. Firstly, Manchester City is backed by deep pockets so financially they have no problem in satisfying the French sensation’s wage bill. Then you have the Pep Guardiola factor, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers ever, which footballer wouldn’t want to play under him? City have won every club football trophy possible after finally getting their hands on the UCL trophy in their treble-winning season and Mbappé is desperate to win the UCL, hence this could be an appealing destination for the frenchman.
However, the current system would need to be tweaked because City already have a world-class striker in Erling Haaland and an equally good second option in Julian Alvarez so fitting all three players into the team would be challenging for Pep.
Liverpool — The Reds are another viable option for the Frenchman because Liverpool have not been shy in the transfer market in recent years. Under manager Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool have spent £282m in transfers and they have strong partnerships with sponsors which could help them secure a transfer for Mbappé. Liverpool have also won the UCL and EPL in recent times so they are not short of success.
However, Klopp is leaving at the end of this season and the club have not yet decided who they will pursue to replace him, for Mbappé this uncertainty could be a red flag. They have an ongoing situation with Mohamed Salah who might leave the club in the summer which could complicate things further. Like City, they already have players like Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota who are more than capable of playing the striker role and I’m sure neither of them would willingly want to lose their spot in the team.
Real Madrid — We all know Madrid have been trailing Mbappé’s signature for a long time and it looks like he would be the final piece in the puzzle for them to reclaim the Champions League. At the moment, their striker is Joselu, who is decent but it is quite evident he is not on the level of their previous striker Karim Benzema and who better to fill those shoes than another Frenchman.
Madrid would be the most likely destination for Mbappé because of their history in the UCL and domestically. They are not known as one of the greatest teams in Europe for nothing. Moreover, footballers who play for Real Madrid not only have a chance of winning every trophy possible but are even favoured to win the Ballon D’or if they manage to outshine their competitors and their own star-studded teammates.
Let’s be honest, Real Madrid is a glamorous club and will challenge for the UCL every year while almost guaranteeing at least one other domestic trophy. Los Blancos is a team filled with superstars and this will be another determining factor in Mbappé’s final decision. Financially, just like Liverpool and Manchester City, Madrid have no issues and paying the Frenchman’s wage bill would just be another formality for them.
The next couple of weeks will be crucial in determining where Mbappé will be heading in the summer because reports suggest that Madrid want to get a pre-contract agreement done as soon as possible to secure Mbappé’s move in the summer. If Madrid are slow or if there are any other shocks along the way, Liverpool, Manchester City or even another club like Arsenal or Chelsea might try to swoop in and complicate things. Either way, Mbappé is finally leaving PSG and this long transfer saga is about to end this year but maybe…just maybe there is still enough time for one final surprise.
