PSG’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during a French League One soccer match between Brest and PSG at the Francis-Le Ble Stadium in Brest, France, Friday, August 20.
The French club’s sporting director said on Wednesday that Paris Saint-Germain has rejected an offer from Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe for around $188 million, but is ready to negotiate a transfer of the player.
Leonardo told French broadcaster RMC Sport that the initial Madrid offer is less than what PSG expected. He said the club would not take Mbappe back if he wanted to leave, but any deal would be done on the club’s terms.
“Kilian Mbappe wants to leave, which seems obvious to me,” Leonardo said. “If Real Madrid makes an offer, it seems obvious. I am giving a position which, I think, is clear to all. We cannot change our plans in the last week of the transfer window. If he wants to leave, we’re not going to keep him, but it’s under our terms.”
This was the first time PSG has said that Mbappe wants to leave. The club was saying he was not for sale, but his contract expires this season and they can’t get anything for him if he doesn’t sell him now.
Leonardo said PSG had already verbally asked “no” for a Madrid offer of “approximately” 160 million euros ($188 million), which was being widely reported in Spain and France. He added that the proposal was “far from what Qian represents at the moment.”
“It’s less than what we paid for him. But the way Real Madrid is going, it doesn’t make us happy,” Leonard said.
Madrid have not officially confirmed or denied that it has made an offer for the 22-year-old France star who joined PSG from Monaco in 2017. It is believed to have been a first for Madrid, a longtime target for the Spanish powerhouse.
Madrid president Florentino Pérez has publicly spoken about the club’s interest in Mbappe in the past, and the player has never denied his desire to play one-dayers with the team.
Rumors grew about a possible transfer after Lionel Messi’s move from Barcelona to PSG, with some at the Catalan club accusing Perez of working behind the scenes to bring Messi to France to open the way for Messi to come to Madrid .
Perez has denied any involvement in Messi’s departure from Barcelona. Earlier this year he praised Mbappe and said Madrid fans should wait “peacefully” for new developments regarding his possible transfer to Madrid.
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