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Written by Martin Graham | May 24, 2022
Kylian Mbappe has spoken out against allegations that it was money that drove him to stay at PSG.
Mbappe has been the subject of transfer speculation with Real Madrid since the 2020/21 season and is close to joining them this season.
He had the offers of PSG and Madrid on his table until Saturday morning when he made the shocking decision to stay with the 10-times French champions.
His new deal at the club is said to include a £1m-a-week wage, a £100m login bonus, a concession over his image rights and a few other performance-based extras.
This has caused tongues to vibrate in the media – radio, television and print – as well as on the Internet – online newspapers and social media. The LaLiga leadership, who had been looking forward to welcoming Mbappe to Spain, described the deal as “scandalous” and stated that it would report it to the relevant authorities as it ignores all financial fair play rules for the sport.
But the 23-year-old came out to clear the air while speaking out against the reports, saying the money was only in their discussions for a few minutes.
“Everyone knows that I wanted to leave last year. But things are different now, both sportingly and personally,” Mbappe said.
“Leaving my country wasn’t the right thing. There is an emotional side to this, and the sports project has changed too… We talked for months about the sports project, and we only talked about money for a few minutes.”
Mbappe’s nonsense talking about influencing transfer decisions
There were also reports that Mbappe would have a say in how to run the club with his new deal, which he also played down.
He said, “I will not go beyond my role as a player. You don’t need a special responsibility to take part in this project. There is a captain in this club, Marquinhos, and I’m not looking to take over from him. I don’t need to be a captain to give my point.”
He then thanked Real Madrid for their efforts while refusing to rule out PSG remaining after his new contract.
“I made my decision last week,” Mbappe added. “I spoke to Florentino Perez, I have a lot of respect for him and for Real Madrid. They did their best to get us there and make me happy, so I thank them for that.”
“Something I learned in football is that you have to look ahead, but not too far. A year ago I didn’t think I would be sitting here, and now I’ve signed a new contract… I’m focused on this new project.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. I don’t know where I will be in three years.”
