‘I Had the Feeling He Was Going to Stay’ – Ander Herrera Comments on Real Madrid-Kylian Mbappé Rumors Over the Summer | OneFootball

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, the rumor that took over the football world was Real Madrid’s late push to land Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé. The Spanish club reportedly made two offers for the 22-year-old, but the capital club rejected their interest.

Eventually, the Ligue 1 side held onto their player, who has one year left on his contract. Nonetheless, for midfielder Ander Herrera, it was never in doubt that the France international would remain with PSG for the 2021-22 season during an interview with El Larguero.

“Mbappé? I had the feeling he was going to stay; I was 95-percent sure. But you still have this doubt until the last moment that the negotiations are happening on another level, away from the football player. But what the club had always told us was that Kylian would stay, and I really meant it. And he himself had confirmed it to me!” Herrera said.

“I asked him two weeks before the end of the transfer market, jokingly, and he replied: ‘no, no, I’m here, I’m here’. So everything that came out in the press struck me as strange. (…) What I read in the press did not coincide with what I saw day by day. (…) I think that the coming season can play on whether or not to keep Mbappe.”

Now comes the challenging task for PSG, find an agreement over an extension. In a recent interview with Canal Plus, Sporting director Leonardo stated that the goal is to hold onto their superstar forward.

Mbappé can open talks with any club, primarily Real Madrid, in January over a pre-contract for the 2022-23 season. So these next few months will be crucial to see if they can extend the forward.