Party at Paris Saint-Germain! Despite Real Madrid’s advances, Kylian Mbappé decided on Saturday to extend his adventure with the capital club which, more than ever, dreams of winning its first Champions League with the French international striker.
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The series of several months was resolved in the afternoon according to several specialized media, a few hours before the kick-off of the last match of the season in Ligue 1, against Metz.
L’Équipe, Marca, Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui in France and RMC have rumored Mbappé’s “yes” in Paris, for a three-year contract which has yet to be signed. The official announcement would come in the evening.
According to several media, he communicated his decision to the president of Real Madrid Florentino Pérez, rejected once again after trying to recruit him last year.
Mbappé’s entourage, contacted in the middle of the afternoon, did not wish to react to press information.
Between Madrid and Paris, “the two offers are equal … On the one hand we have our image (Madrid) and on the other the financial … Not much difference”, said Friday his mother, Fayza Lamari , to the Egyptian media Kora Plus.
The native of Bondy (23) made the choice of loyalty to a club which recruited him in 2017, when he “was still nobody”, as he declared in May 2021.
Turnaround
Today a candidate for the Ballon d’Or, after another exceptional season, the 2018 world champion also had to obtain the sporting guarantees he required to stay, he who claimed to be “at the center of the project”.
His decision launches a new summer of major maneuvers at PSG, which has promised to restructure to avoid reliving the embarrassing elimination in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Real last March (0-1, 3-1).
But first, let’s celebrate! Parisian supporters are relieved to see Mbappé stay, after having long been resigned to the departure of their best player, one of the rare satisfactions of a disappointing 2021/22 season.
Madrid, too, showed many signs of optimism during the negotiations. Florentino Pérez wanted to attract this new “galactic” for his Santiago-Bernabéu stadium who sometimes called for “Mbappé” during matches.
This turnaround sounds like a great victory for sports director Leonardo, president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and the Qatari fund QSI, owner of the club since 2011 and which remains in a position of strength six months before the World Cup organized in Qatar, where Mbappé and the Blues will defend their title.
It is now a little more the PSG of Mbappé, future biggest salary of the club according to the press, than that of Lionel Messi or Neymar.
In the evening, the attacker will be honored on an individual basis, if he finishes top scorer and best assistor of the season in L1 – a performance that no one has achieved before him. The opportunity to seal in front of the public this union called to win everything.
Farewell to Di Maria
The story would be beautiful, for PSG, if he won the C1, his obsession, with the Bondynois recruited from Monaco in 2017 (against 180 M EUR), when he was only 18 years old.
They came very close in 2020, beaten in the final by Bayern Munich (1-0), and again in 2021, where the adventure ended in the semi-finals against Manchester City (2-1, 2-0) .
On both occasions, Mbappé was not 100%. Decreased for the Lisbon final against the Germans, he still had the displeasure of arriving injured a year later.
It remains to define the contours of the workforce for next season. Some executives will pack their bags like Angel Di Maria who, after seven years which saw him become the best passer in the history of PSG, will play his last match against Metz.
The ultras of the CUP promised on Saturday to pay a “vibrant tribute” to the Argentine winger, “at the height of his talent”.
“I hope you have a great night and get the goodbye you truly deserve.” You are leaving and we will miss you, phenomenon, ”wrote on Instagram his compatriot and teammate, Leandro Paredes.
The future of coach Mauricio Pochettino, despite his current contract until 2023, would also be threatened. “I don’t see why I won’t be there next season,” he swept away, promising that “the best was yet to come. “With Mbappé, PSG has every reason to believe it.
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