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Since my last column, Kylian Mbappe has confirmed to Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he plans to leave PSG at the end of his contract this summer. While that communication has now been made, there is still no official communication that Mbappe has reached a transfer agreement with Real Madrid. There’s still nothing signed, despite some reports stating that it’s a done deal, to all intents and purposes.
We don’t have anything official from PSG or Real Madrid yet either, but what we do know is that PSG probably won’t announce Mbappe’s departure until he’s communicated that he’s signed a contract with Real Madrid. Another key detail in terms of the timing of all this could be when it becomes clear whether or not the two clubs can meet in the Champions League this season.
So, in theory that means it might be a while yet before we get an announcement on that, but should one or the other drop out of the competition then that could pave the way for there to be some official communication sooner rather than later.
From what I’m told, one reason the deal is still to be signed on the dotted line is related to his Olympic participation, and other various moveable parts. It’s also been reported that Mbappe’s entourage have sounded out the likes of Manchester City, and my understanding is that they are a group of very switched-on individuals who know the kind of leverage they have with a player of Mbappe’s calibre. So sounding out some of the biggest clubs like Man City in order to extrapolate the best offer they can out of Real Madrid is a no-brainer. This allows them to go to the table armed with the knowledge of what other clubs would be willing to pay for him, but it doesn’t mean that the intention was to seriously consider a move to anywhere other than Real Madrid, but it was just to get the best contract possible.
We’re now in the latter stages of those talks, so even if there’s…
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