Aurelien Tchouameni has discussed his decision to turn down PSG and join Real Madrid

The Frenchman admitted that he was approached by Kylian Mbappe, who tried to convince his Les Bleus teammate to join PSG, but Tchouameni had already decided.

As soon as Real Madrid’s offer came along, he told his agent to close the deal

Aurelien Tchouameni has discussed his decision to turn down Paris Saint-Germain and join Real Madrid, who presented their new signing on Tuesday. The Frenchman admitted that he was approached by Kylian Mbappe, who tried to convince his Les Bleus teammate to join PSG, but Tchouameni had already decided. “As soon as Real Madrid’s offer came along, I told my agent to close the deal,” Tchouameni said at an introductory press conference. “There were other negotiations, but the first option was Real Madrid. By the Champions League final, there were already negotiations with Real Madrid, and it’s true that when I saw the games against PSG or Manchester City, I wrote to my agent and said, ‘Do everything possible to take me there, please’.

Tchouameni has told Mbappe that he wanted to sign for Real Madrid

“Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at PSG, and he already knew I was leaving Monaco and wanted to know if I could go to PSG, but I told him I wanted to sign for Real Madrid, and he understood perfectly.” Tchouameni revealed that he also talked with compatriots Karim Benzema and Eduardo Camavinga before putting pen to paper on a Real Madrid deal. “I have been lucky enough to speak to Benzema and Camavinga,” he added. “In the case of Camavinga, we have seen how he has improved in his first year, and I will be lucky enough to play at the club with the best striker in the world. When the negotiations were progressing, he wrote to me and asked if he could help me. Carlo Ancelotti spoke to me too during the negotiations and told me I should come to Real Madrid to continue learning.”

The France international also stressed that he could play both as a holding midfielder and a box-to-box player in Ancelotti’s 4-3-3 formation. “I’ve played with two midfielders since I was a kid, and at Real Madrid, my position would be a No.6 in a 4-3-3, but I can play as a No.8 too,” he noted. “I can play in both positions. I have no problem playing at the back or the front in the middle third.”