One of the worst kept secrets in football is Real Madrid’s apparent desire to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s talisman, Kylian Mbappe.
The French World Cup winner has refused to sign an extension to his current deal and it means that he can walk away from the Ligue Un giants for free at the end of the current campaign.
That would mean that Los Blancos wouldn’t have to pay a transfer fee for him and, as such, could offer him extremely favourable personal terms to see him join them in time for the 2024/25 campaign.
There has been plenty of talk about the potential move without anything happening, and given that rumours are once again doing the rounds, Real have taken the unprecedented step of issuing a formal statement via their official website.
‘Given the information recently issued and published by different media outlets, in which there is speculation about alleged negotiations between the player Kylian Mbappe and our club, Real Madrid C.F. would like to state that this information is completely false and that no such negotiations have taken place with a player who belongs to PSG,’ it read.
Real president, Florentino Perez, certainly won’t accept another courting process that ends without consummation of the relationship, but even the unequivocal nature of the words within the statement won’t be enough to stop some tongues from wagging.
The only real surprise will be if Mbappe did decide to move elsewhere, as he had been rumoured to be joining Real Madrid before now, only to seemingly let the club down at the last minute.