Kylian Mbappe, linked with Liverpool for years, IS officially LEAVING PSG | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe has officially announced that he’s leaving Paris Saint-Germain this year. This comes after years of Liverpool links.

It's official - Kylian Mbappé is leaving Paris Saint-Germain. He confirmed it this week in a public video, announcing that 2023/24 will be his final season in Paris.

Of course, this isn't a shock to anyone. It's been reported for a long, long time that Mbappé would depart after his current contract, with half a suspicion (at least) that his eventual destination was Real Madrid.

Florentino Perez has attempted to sign him pretty much every year for the last seven. Now he has his chance to get him on a free transfer.

And even if it is predictable news, it's still momentous for the world of football. Mbappé is very possibly the world's best player and no one would be shocked to see him confirm that by moving to a bigger league and a more 'stable' club than PSG.

Real Madrid would certainly offer him that chance and he immediately becomes the favourite for the Ballon d'Or in 2024/25. After all this is a truly 'world-class' player, in the words of Emiliano Martinez - who conceded a World Cup final hattrick to the Frenchman.

Kylian Mbappé to Liverpool?

No, it's not happening. But it should be addressed that this is the situation Liverpool reportedly hoped for - they just hoped to get one over Real Madrid at the end of it.

The Reds hoped to sign Mbappé from AS Monaco before he moved to PSG. That one we know as the player himself publicly admitted it.

"I talked to Liverpool because it's the favourite club of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool," he said, per the Telegraph. "I don't know why, you will have to ask her.

"It's a good club and we met them five years ago. When I was in Monaco I met them. It's a big club."

And there has been plenty of talk since then, especially ahead of this summer. Le Parisien claimed Liverpool were the top rivals to Real to get Mbappé, while various outlets all over the world claimed similar.

However, it's debatable whether Liverpool were ever really in this race. Guillem Balague suggested at the start of the year that the Reds were merely a negotiation tactic from Mbappé - he was always heading to Real, but he needed a rival to strengthen his position.

And honestly, there's probably a lot of truth to that. Mbappé won't be coming to Anfield and he's heading to Madrid - the positive there is that we'll have heard the end of the speculation once and for all.

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