According to Nicolas Anelka, Kylian Mbappe is on his way to Real Madrid, which is why he has refused to sign a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe has been a target for Real since he was a child, and the club offered PSG £171 million to purchase him last summer, despite the fact that he had only one year left on his contract.
PSG, in a show of their affluence, turned down the offer, knowing that they could lose Mbappe for free a year later.
Mbappe has recently refused to discuss Real’s interest, and last week offered an angry answer to a question about the rumors, with PSG hosting Los Blancos in the Champions League next week at the Parc des Princes.
However, Anelka, who has played for both Real and PSG, believes Mbappe will return to the Santiago Bernabeu next season.
‘In general, when a player wants to quit for no reason… [he typically does].’ He would have signed a new contract earlier if he wanted to stay,’ Anelka told Marca. However, Anelka believes that Real’s interest will have no bearing on Mbappe’s performance when the game begins.
‘I believe he will join Real Madrid next season.’ ‘Everyone thinks he’ll join Real Madrid,’ Anelka continued.
‘Will he want to make the difference against them just to prove he belongs at Real Madrid?’
It’s likely that he’ll want to leave PSG with his head held high before moving to Madrid, but I have no idea what’ll be on his mind.’
Despite a lackluster start to life at PSG, Anelka believes Lionel Messi will rise to the occasion against Real Madrid.
Messi scored and assisted in PSG’s 5-1 triumph over Lille champions past weekend, after failing to score in his previous five games.
And despite scoring five times in the Champions League, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has only scored twice in Ligue 1 this season.
Messi’s troubles, according to Anelka, stem from the fact that he never wanted to come to PSG in the first place but was compelled to do so due to Barcelona’s massive financial problems.
‘I don’t think he wanted to leave Barca,’ says the narrator. He was forced to go, so it’s not easy for him,’ Anelka explained.
‘Messi has lived in Barcelona his entire life, and it is difficult for him to adjust because everything is new to him.
‘It’s a different circumstance for him, but Messi is Messi, and he always proves himself to be a fantastic player in games like this, so I hope he’ll have a nice game against Madrid.’