Mbappé saga 3? Real Madrid should beware, the Frenchman can’t ruin his third summer in a row

COMMENTARY – Kylian Mbappé has refused to extend the option in his contract with PSG, so his contract expires in a year. But the Parisians reportedly refuse to let him go for free, so they want to sell him immediately this summer. This opens up another opportunity for Real Madrid, who must not be fooled for a third time.

It was the summer of 2021, Real Madrid openly went for Kylian Mbappé. Even the Frenchman himself has said in interviews that he wants to leave Madrid at any cost.

Real Madrid gradually sponsored their offers. First 120 million euros, then 150 million euros, he even offered 200 million euros, which is a huge amount for a player a year before the end of his contract.

And PSG’s response? None. The president of Los Blancos, Florentino Pérez, then publicly complained that the Parisians’ management completely ignored the club’s offers and didn’t even bother to respond.

PSG owner Al-Khelaifi, for his part, let it be known that they have enough money and certainly don’t need to sell Mbappé, so he’s not going anywhere.

The saga dragged on all summer and Real Madrid waited for Mbappé, hence they didn’t buy anyone all summer. When he realised on 31 August that it wasn’t going to work, he at least reached for Eduardo Camaving. One messed up transfer window.

(Non)Transfer No.2

Last summer the situation was different because everything was sorted out at the beginning of the summer. But Mbappé still managed to spoil Real’s transfer window. After all, his contract at PSG was ending in the summer and he gave Real a verbal promise in the winter that he would sign in the Spanish capital in the summer.

Real were deciding between Haaland and Mbappé, and when they had a deal in place for the Frenchman, they let the Norwegian striker go. It was later admitted by Haaland’s father that the expected arrival of Mbappé was one of the reasons why his son eventually chose Manchester City.

Only what didn’t happen, Mbappé got a huge contract with a gigantic signing bonus, changed his mind and stayed in Paris. So Real Madrid had neither Haaland nor Mbappé. In the end, he only signed Aurélien Tchouaméni, but no reinforcements came in the attack and Real paid the price for the season. A second broken transfer window.

To the third of everything that went wrong?

And to the third of all good (bad?) things, we begin again with the Mbappé – Real Madrid saga. On Monday, L’Equipe newspaper reported that the World Cup final hat-trick scorer has officially informed PSG that he will not extend the option in his contract, which will expire in June 2024, when he could leave for free.

However, according to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, PSG are not going to let Mbappé go for free, so he will either sign a new contract or PSG will sell him immediately this summer.

And that opens up another option for Real Madrid. At a delicate moment, because Karim Benzema has just left the Santiago Bernabéu after 14 years and Los Blancos are looking for a new star in attack.

But beware, this could be a trap. Real Madrid must not let Mbappé spoil their third summer in a row. He must not get dragged into a long negotiation that will drag on all summer and PSG will say no again at the last minute. Real cannot afford to go into the season without an elite striker.

If Real really want Mbappé, and Mbappé wants to join Real, he should make this announcement publicly and put pressure on PSG management to sell him as soon as possible. In previous years when Real had Benzema it was a different story, but at the current moment they can’t afford to be dragged around all summer and end up getting shafted again.

Source: L’Equipe, Fabrizio Romano