Real Madrid remain very calm over the Kylian Mbappe transfer situation, despite him now looking set to stay at Paris Saint-Germain this summer and possibly even sign a new contract with the club.
Writing exclusively for CaughtOffside, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that it was never Real Madrid’s plan to move for the France international this summer, with no official bid made, as the expectation has always been for him to move to the Bernabeu in the summer of 2024.
Real Madrid spent big on signing Jude Bellingham this summer, so it’s perhaps unlikely that they could have afforded Mbappe as well, with the 24-year-old potentially available on a free in a year’s time if he doesn’t extend his contract at the Parc des Princes.
Still, Romano also says Mbappe could now be open to discussing a new deal with PSG, in something of a surprise twist, though nothing has been agreed yet as there are several options on the table for him.
“Kylian Mbappe is back with the Paris Saint-Germain squad after contacts in the last few days between the club and the player and his camp. These talks were quite positive, and so PSG communicated to Mbappe that he’s back in Luis Enrique’s squad, so even though he was up for sale and out of the project, he is now returning to the first-team. Nasser Al Khelaifi was also at the training ground, and he communicated to the squad that Mbappe is back and committed to PSG,” Romano said.
“So what’s happening? Mbappe and PSG have had more positive talks over a new deal, it’s completely different from the previous four or five weeks.
“At the moment there is still no total agreement, there are different solutions that could be on the table – a short-term contract, or a long-term contract with a release clause for summer 2024. Many things are being discussed, so there’s still no agreement but there are at least discussions after it previously looked unlikely.
“Of course, this could make the situation more complicated for Real Madrid. For now, Real Madrid are very calm. They never entered into any negotiation this summer – no bid, no talks, nothing. Just interest of course, but PSG always thought Mbappe agreed with Madrid for summer 2024. So, they’re calm and they keep going on their way.”