French superstar Kylian Mbappé is set to leave Paris Saint Germain (PSG) this summer after seven years at the club. It was announced by multiple media outlets on February 15th that Mbappé reportedly told PSG that he will not renew his contract in the summer as he wants a new challenge. This information was later confirmed by PSG.
At just 25 years old, Mbappé has had one of the most decorated careers: he was the youngest player to score in a World Cup Final, which he also won in 2018 at just 18 years old (the previous record was held by Pelé). He also managed to score a hattrick in the 2022 World Cup Final in a 3-3 (4-2 pens) which he lost with France against Argentina. He won Ligue 1 with Monaco once and five times with PSG. He has also won a ton of Coupe De France and French Super Cups. The only trophies that have eluded the Frenchman are the Euros and the UEFA Champions League.
Not only is he a serial winner, on the individual level Mbappé has scored goals for fun since he was a teenager. He scored 27 goals for Monaco, 243 goals for PSG as of right now, and 46 goals for the French national team (316 in total).
Mbappé was on every big club’s radar since his breakthrough season with Monaco in 2017, yet, PSG was the club he most desired at the time. Throughout his time at PSG, Real Madrid has tried to entice Mabppé away from the club. Mbappé was a big fan of Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo, so a move to Real Madrid has always been a dream for him. It seemed that last summer was going to be Madrid’s time to bring him to the club. However, as the move seemed as good as done, Mbappé decided to sign a new mega-contract at PSG until 2025.
This upset a lot of people, including PSG fans who were disappointed in the club and Mbappé for handling the situation poorly. Mbappé was accused of only caring about money and not his career. Despite being snubbed publicly, Real Madrid did not end their pursuit and it now seems that they will finally get Mbappé after years of waiting. It is clear that Mbappé loves PSG, but the desire to win a Champions League is bigger and since Real Madrid have won the competition 14 times, it seems that this is Mbappé’s best chance. The contract Real Madrid will offer Mbappé will not be as big as his current deal at PSG but the Frenchman is reportedly okay with taking a smaller contract.
In addition to Real Madrid, there are other teams in the race such as Liverpool and Arsenal. News came out that if it was not to be Real Madrid, Mbappé would be interested in a move to Arsenal to replicate the career of Arsenal and French legend Thierry Henry. However, Arsenal are most likely unable to afford to meet the 25-year-old’s contract demands.
The much desired transfer of Mbappé to Real Madrid is seemingly becoming a reality…
Freshman Golnar Jalinous is a staff writer. Her email is gjalinou@fandm.edu