Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, did little to tamp down that paranoia this week, when he responded positively to a question from a fan about whether the Spanish club would recruit Mbappé. Pérez replied that Madrid would pursue the French star, “but not this year.”
For now, Mbappé has reiterated in his statement his intention to stay in Paris for one more season.
“After maintaining publicly in recent weeks that he would be a P.S.G. player next season, Kylian Mbappé has not asked to leave this summer and has just confirmed to the club that he would not be activating the extra year,” read the statement attributed to Mbappé and his representatives.
The publication of the letter by the French news media before the club had received it, the statement said, had “the sole aim of damaging their image and the discussions with the club.”
P.S.G. had expected that Mbappé would eventually move on, and club officials knew — given his stated affinity for Real Madrid — that any negotiations to extend his contract might have failed. But the club did not expect his intentions to be made public via Monday’s letter, according to the executive familiar with the talks between the club and the player. The executive said the P.S.G. president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, had discussed the matter with Mbappé’s mother, Fayza Lamari, and that other club executives had reached out to Mbappé directly. But there was little clarity over what had happened, only confirmation of the player’s intention to leave.
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