Kylian Mbappe has made a record in the history of football following his new contract with Paris St-Germain. The Real Madrid target signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him there until 2025. Not until the day before the news of his decision emerged, did neither his current club nor suitors Real Madrid knew exactly what was going to happen. Mbappe had reached agreements with both of them some time ago, something confirmed by his mum and one of his representatives, Fayza Lamari, on Friday.
Nothing had been signed, but the terms were all set. Both clubs were willing to pay 150m euros (£127m) as a signing-on fee, and both accepted he would have the majority of his image rights and a wage of 40m euros (£34m). And then on Friday, after the last game of the season against Real Betis, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez informed his club’s players in the Bernabeu changing rooms that Mbappe would not be coming again.
The Spanish giant had long been hopeful they would sign the France World Cup winner this summer and they were confident this would be the culmination of a flirtation that started when Mbappe burst onto the scene in the Monaco team that reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017.
Why Kylian Mbappe Extended his Contract with PSG
Kylian Mbappe has long admired the club, from the days as a child when he had posters of Cristiano Ronaldo in a Real Madrid shirt on his wall. So the big question is: what changed or what happened? Kylian Mbappe’s decision is not entirely motivated by money although it played a big part in his decision. About a month ago PSG went strongly and said they would offer him that massive signing-on fee to stay for two more years. That was their proposal and that’s when Mbappe said publicly that new elements had come into the equation. His family went back to Madrid and said ‘how about a similar signing-on fee?’.
The Spanish champions said they would match it. There were also negotiations about image rights Real Madrid always want 50% of these but they had to go below that figure to convince the striker. Or at least they thought he had been convinced. But it looked like PSG might have gone even further with the signing-on fee, plus offering other advantages Real Madrid could not offer (more control over sporting decisions, future deals with Qatar, etc).
PSG’s proposal is less dramatic than it sounds because it is something that happens with big stars anyway. They do get asked about managers and big transfers, especially at PSG, where the influence of the manager is smaller than at other places. While the player’s mum and dad are his closest advisers and deal with his affairs, with the close help of their lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, ultimately the decision was completely up to him and there has been a significant change in attitude.
The link between this year’s Qatar World Cup and the Qatari owners of PSG is a clear one. The pressure from Qatar has gone to the political authorities in France and even French President Emmanuel Macron got involved in putting pressure on Kylian Mbappe to remain in the club, it was because of all the advantages and pressure that made the player extend his contract with the club. He will be part of the sporting directors of the club even though as a player which is something that has never happened before.
Spain’s La Liga has reacted angrily to the news, calling the deal “scandalous” and announcing its plans to file a complaint to Uefa as well as the French and EU authorities.
