Kylian Mbappe plans to leave PSG in 2021 and the only club he has his heart set on joining is Real Madrid, according to reports.
The story, via football journalist Josep Pedrerol, will come as no huge surprise to those who've followed Mbappe's career closely. The Paris-born 21-year-old wanted to play for his home city club when he left Monaco in 2018 - but he's also been a long-time admirer of Los Blancos.
Mbappe has reportedly informed PSG of his plans for next summer and the reasons are straightforward. Zinedine Zidane was a childhood hero of the striker, while there is also a core of French coaches and players already at the club (including Raphael Varane, Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy).
The World Cup-winning striker also believes that Real Madrid is a better place to achieve his dreams of claiming the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.
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Secretly, such an ambitious player might also be wishing he was in a slightly more competitive league than Ligue 1, which PSG have begun to dominate.
As he has two years left on his current contract, PSG will have little power to stop Mbappe in 2021 if he does not sign an extension. The alternative would be to lose the player in 2022 and receive no transfer fee.
A potential move also makes sense as Real Madrid are one of the few clubs who could afford to sign Mbappe and, with respect to Eden Hazard and his teammates, the club are still looking for a true superstar attacker to fill the boots of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The news will come as a blow to Liverpool, who have also been linked to Mbappe's signature. Although the funds to sign a player widely viewed as a generational talent may not be forthcoming, as LFC have not spent extravagantly under the ownership of FSG.
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There are further reports that Real Madrid fancy a whole new era of Galacticos - with plans to sign not just Mbappe but also Erling Haaland, defender Dayot Upamecano and 17-year-old French international Eduardo Camavinga.
Wow. And we thought Barcelona had enough problems just sorting out their own mess.
All imagery: PA Images
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Ligue 1, PSG, Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid, La Liga