13 June 2023 , 06:26
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Real Madrid will move to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer as Paris Saint-Germain will attempt to sell the striker rather than risk losing him as a free agent next year.
Mbappe will not sign the one-year contract extension in his PSG contract meaning that his deal will expire in 12 months. Mirror Football understands that the French club’s priority is to ensure he does not leave without a transfer fee, meaning they are prepared to cash-in on the superstar this summer.
PSG have been in ongoing contract renewal talks with Mbappe. The club believe those talks have been positive but the club have been left stunned that the striker has informed media that he will not take up the option to extend his current deal by a further year.
Mbappe has an option to renew his contract at PSG until 2025 - but as things stand is out of contract next year (Getty Images)The Ligue 1 champions will continue contract renewal talks with the France international but are now preparing for the possibility of selling him this summer if those talks do not come to fruition. The one option the club will not contemplate is risk losing him as a free agent next year, as happened in 2022.
Real Madrid are the long-term admirers of the striker and have been compelled to reactivate their interest after Karim Benzema confirmed his exit from the Spanish giants. His exit from the club means they are desperately short on attacking options, with Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz – the latter of whom was the only recognised central striker in Madrid’s senior squad – also all departing as free agents this summer.
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This weekend, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez responded to a question on a future move for Mbappe: “Yes. But not this year.” That proclamation came just days ahead of Mbappe detailing his future plans and could hasten a potential transfer to this summer, due to Madrid’s needs and the intention of PSG.
Mbappe's future at PSG has appeared to be uncertain for months (Getty Images)Have Your Say! Which club should Mbappe sign this summer? Tell us what you think here.
Mbappe was said to have had a verbal agreement in place to join Madrid last season and the striker had previously hinted at a move to the Spanish capital after a eye-opening interview suggested that he had been open to leaving France.
However, that move did not materialise as he committed his future to the French capital. The striker penned a new three-year contract in Paris last May – although the final year of that deal is an optional renewal on the player’s behalf, which will now not be activated.
That development came less than a year after the French club rejected a world-record transfer offer from Los Blancos for the striker, whose previous contract at the Parc des Princes expired last June. Without adding the one-year option for extending his deal, he will be out of contract next summer.
Mbappe came under a huge amount of political pressure to stay in the French capital last year, including from French president Emmanuel Macron – who contacted the striker to persuade him not to join Real Madrid.