Real Madrid has the green light to sign Kylian Mbappe after the star told PSG he will leave the club when his contract expires.
Madrid’s seven-year pursuit of the 25-year-old has left them frustrated and embarrassed and they wanted a public show from Mbappe that he intended to leave the French club this time before making their move.
Mbappe’s decision not to renew leaves the path clear for the La Liga leaders to close the signing.
It has also been interpreted as a clear signal Mbappe is prepared to drop his financial demands. Fourteen-time European Cup winners Madrid have always maintained they would not compete financially with PSG.
The Spanish club’s unwillingness to smash their wage structure to match the £21.4million annual salary the Frenchman earns in Paris after tax is no longer a problem, as there would be no transfer fee to pay.
Madrid are willing to make Mbappe the club’s top earner, surpassing the £10.3m per season they pay Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
They will also pay a signing-on fee of around £85.5m and open talks over what percentage of his image rights he retains.
The player’s mother Fayza Lamari wants Madrid to abandon their usual 50-50 split between club and player and Madrid president Florentino Perez is likely to cede to those demands.
Mbappe is expected to take the No 10 shirt that Luka Modric will vacate in the summer. His arrival would give Madrid a forward line of Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo, supported by Bellingham.
Last summer PSG received a world-record £259m bid from Al Hilal for Mbappe and gave the player permission to talk to the Saudi club.
However, it was reported Mbappe turned down the chance to even discuss a move to Al Hilal when delegates from the club came to Paris.
Amid the speculation over his potential exit, PSG club president Nassr Al-Khelaifi previously stated that he wanted the winger to stay at the club, claiming that it was the best fit for him.
He said, ‘Look, I’m not hiding anything.
‘For sure I want Mbappe to stay. For me he is the best in the world and for me the best club for Kylian is Paris.’
PSG had even reportedly offered him a ‘two-year £70m contract’ to try and fend off approaches from Madrid and get him to stay at the Parc Des Princes.
But Real remains perhaps the more enticing offer for Mbappe, who perhaps will earn slightly less at the LaLiga club than he will in Paris but may stand a better chance of winning the Champions League with the Galacticos.
Mbappe joined the Parisian side in 2017 from Monaco, initially on a loan deal, before the French giants splashed out a whopping £155m to make his transfer permanent.
The French captain would go on to sign a contract extension in 2022, and has an option to extend that deal for another year until June 2025.
During his time in Paris, Mbappe has gone on to return a staggering 243 goals in 290 appearances for the club, netting his 44th goal Champions League goal last night.
Yet, it seemed as though his time at PSG had been nearing its end for a while now, with tensions rising in recent years with both the club and the player butting heads on his contract with the club.
PSG had wanted him to extend his deal past 2025, but banished him to train with the B team, after Mbappe refused to sign a contract extension.
That stand-off intensified after the club prevented Mbappe from attending their tour of Japan – with the club subsequently dropping the 25-year-old from all advertising.
The signs back then were perhaps telling, with Mbappe writing a letter to the Parisian outfit stating that he would not be activating a year-long extension clause in his contract.
As tensions flared, PSG accused Mbappe of inflicting ‘a lasting paralysis on the club’ and stated that he should have treated the club better after their ‘years of unprecedented goodwill and commitment’ to him.
For Mbappe, the next six months will be a busy one, in many ways.
He will no doubt be wanting to finish his time at PSG by winning the Champions League. After that comes the Euros, with Mbappe set to lead Didier Deschamps’ team at the tournament.
Henry has also said that he would love to have Mbappe as part of his side that will represent France at the Olympics in Paris later this summer.
But there is no doubt several clubs around Europe will be eyeing up a move for the French superstar.