Report – How Real Madrid’s move for Mbappe came about after the disappointment of 2022 | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe has officially announced that he will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season. Nothing is known about his future club, but all signs point to a move to Real Madrid.

The superstar’s impending move to Spain, thus, culminates a long-standing melodrama which saw Los Blancos chase him for years to no end.

Now, at 25 years of age, Mbappe deems it to be the right time to take the next step in his career and PSG are aware that Real Madrid awaits.

How the move came about

As revealed by The Athletic in a recent report, the offices at the Valdebebas have worked very hard for years to ensure that the signing goes through.

One is forced to go back to the summer of 2022 when Kylian Mbappe renewed his contract with PSG after being very close to making the switch to Madrid. Los Blancos, understandably, were disappointed in the player’s decision.

Mbappe, however, remained in constant contact with Florentino Perez over his situation, even informing the Real Madrid president that he would be renewing his contract with PSG in May 2022.

On his way to Real Madrid. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Thus began a series of discussions and debates in the Madrid offices over whether the club should abort the mission to recruit the World Cup winner. Eventually, Perez agreed in December 2023 to go after the player one last time this January.

The story this year

Real Madrid offered Mbappe a contract at the beginning of the year in what was their last effort to rope in the player. However, the proposal saw a lower salary than that offered in previous iterations for a multitude of reasons.

For starters, Los Blancos argued that Mbappe was now two years older while the Real Madrid project was also more set than in previous years.

Moreover, the renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu and its rising cost reduced the club’s budget.

Mbappe’s entourage was not happy with the development, but the player himself gave the club positive indications and went on to inform PSG that he would leave at the end of the season back in February.

It was, however, only when Carlo Ancelotti was travelling to Leipzig for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 that the hierarchy informed him that he would work with Mbappe next season.

In fact, it was on that trip that Mbappe told the club he would communicate his departure to PSG.

A date for the announcement of the Frenchman’s signing has not yet been set. However, it is expected anytime after Los Blancos participate in the UCL finale next month.