PSG sporting director Leonardo reveals wantaway Kylian Mbappe can leave for Real Madrid for right fee, confirms bid
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Published 25/08/2021 at 14:13 GMT
An explosive interview with French outlet RMC Sport saw Leonardo confirm PSG had rejected a bid from the Spanish giants, revealing that the fee was "very far" from their asking price. Mbappe's desire to leave for Madrid was also confirmed, with Leonardo slamming the alleged "illegal" conduct of the La Liga club in contacting the Frenchman privately.
Kylian Mbappé wird mit einem Abgang aus Paris in Verbindung gebracht
Image credit: Getty Images
Paris Saint-Germain’s sporting director Leonardo has said Kylian Mbappe “wants to leave” and the club will not stand in the way of a move to Real Madrid.
Following news of a €160m bid from the Spanish giants on Tuesday, Eurosport exclusively reported this morning that Real are confident they can secure a deal for the Frenchman and are willing to raise their bid by a maximum of €20m.
However, despite confirming the 22-year-old’s desire to leave the French capital, PSG’s sporting director assured the forward would only be sold “on our terms” in an explosive interview with RMC Sport.
“Kylian Mbappé wants to leave, that seems clear,” Leonardo said.
If Real Madrid are making an offer, that seems clear. We cannot, the week before the end of the window, change our plans. If he wants to leave, we will not hold him back, but on our terms.
“Kylian has always promised that he would not leave the club for free. That is always what he has said to us.”
Leonardo slammed the conduct of Real for their alleged “illegal” contact of Mbappe, whom PSG signed from Monaco for a reported €180m in 2018 following an initial loan.
Rumours have circulated that the arrival of Lionel Messi has unsettled the young Frenchman, but Leonardo did not mention the Argentine throughout the interview and instead pointed the finger at the La Liga club.
The Brazilian revealed that PSG have rebutted an initial offer from Real and had offered Mbappe two “significant” offers to stay, to no avail.
“Our position has always been to keep Kylian, to extend his contract, that has always been our aim and that is still the case,” Leonardo continued.
“In terms of our position on Real, it seems like a strategy to try to get a no from us, to show that they have tried everything and to wait for a year to get him for free.
For the last 2 years, Real Madrid have been behaving like this, it is not correct, illegal even because they contacted the player. It is unacceptable for us, because it is not correct. It is proof of the strategy: an offer comes 1 year before the end of his contract and 7 days before the end of the window.
“They want us to reject to show to Kylian that they tried everything and to start negotiating for next year.”
Whilst Leonardo left the door open for Mbappe’s departure should a suitable offer arrive, he maintained that Madrid’s current evaluation of around €160m is a long way from their own.
“We consider the offer to be very far from what Kylian represents today,” Leonardo said.
We also owe part of this money to Monaco and we consider that the offer is not enough. It is less than what we paid for him.
Looking ahead, Leonardo was decisive about the club’s plan for the rest of the window, with no plan B in place for a potential life after Mbappe.
The arrivals of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Gini Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid’s former iconic captain Sergio Ramos, on top of Messi, have marked an unprecedented influx of world renowned talent into Paris this summer.
“We do not plan to speak with Real Madrid again,” Leonardo said.
The deadline is 31st August at midnight. That is how the transfer window works, for us it is clear: we keep him and we extend him. We are not preparing anything on the market at the moment. We have never thought about a Plan B.
“We have created a very positive atmosphere. We are not going to let anyone change that.”
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