24 July 2023 , 00:00
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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists that he's "calm" amid speculation that his club are being pressured into making a big-money move to sign Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, 24, has been put up for sale by Paris Saint-Germain and omitted from the club's pre-season tour squad after informing PSG officials that he wouldn't be extending his contract. The French superstar currently only has a deal lasting until June 2024, allowing him to leave on a free transfer next summer.
But PSG, who paid Monaco a staggering €180million (£155m) to sign him as a teenager five years ago, are convinced that Mbappe has already agreed terms to sign for Real Madrid in 12 months' time. In an effort to recoup a significant fee this summer, the Parisians have listed the 24-year-old on the transfer market.
That's put pressure on Perez and co to make a move, having failed with lucrative bids to sign him in both 2021 and 2022. Pressed to comment on the rife speculation while he was on his way to cast a vote in Spain's election, the Los Blancos president told La Sexta: "I am always calm."
Perez then added with a wry smile: "Today, we vote, we don't think of anything else, it's a very important subject for the Spaniards."
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Mbappe has already confessed his admiration for Real Madrid and felt flattered by Perez's efforts to bring him to the Spanish capital previously. "I have lots of respect for [Perez] and for Real Madrid," the France international stated in May last year after he signed what appeared to be a new three-year contract with PSG until 2025, only for the final year to be an option.
"They wanted to do a lot to make me happy. So I thank them for that. I'd also like to thank Real fans. I hope they'll understand the fact I've chosen to stay [at PSG]."
Have your say! Should Real Madrid sign Kylian Mabppe this summer? Let us know in the comments section.
Florentino Perez had other priorities when asked about Kylian Mbappe (Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images)Now, though, the Ligue 1 champions aren't willing to keep Mbappe should he not demonstrate his commitment. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared earlier this month: "My position is very clear. I don't want to repeat it all the time. If Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract.
"We don't want to lose the best player in the world on a free. That's impossible. He had said that he would never leave on a free. It's not my fault that he's changed his mind now. We don't want to lose the best player in the world for free. That's very clear."
Despite being in the final year of his deal, it's expected that PSG would still demand an astronomical fee in order to sell Mbappe.