Mbappe signs new PSG deal: Here's how the saga ended
French football superstar Kylian Mbappe has signed a new three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain. By agreeing to stay with the French champions, Mbappe also turned down a move to Real Madrid. The lucrative deal has a signing-on fee as Mbappe will become the highest-paid footballer in the world. The decision has raised eyebrows and plenty of developments followed. Here are the details.
Why does this story matter?
According to BBC, Mbappe had agreed on a financial package with Real Madrid months ago for a potential switch to Spain. PSG were prepared to pay a staggering signing-on fee, image rights, and an astounding wage bill before Real too agreed. Real were confident of Mbappe's arrival. However, PSG upped the signing-on fee and offered other advantages that Real could not match.
Mbappe issues a statement
Mbappe issued an official statement, saying he is happy and can continue to grow within the club. "I am very happy. Here I can continue to grow within a club like Paris which gives everything to perform at the highest level," he said. "I'm also very happy to be able to continue in France, the country where I was born, grew up and flourished".
Here are the details of Mbappe's new PSG deal
Mbappe has signed a three-year deal and this will keep him at the club until the summer of 2025. In terms of wages, he will now be the highest-paid footballer, earning £1m in wages every week. As per Sky Sports, he will also receive an enormous signing-on fee of approximately £110m. There will be bonuses and concessions over image rights as well.
Mbappe's record at PSG
In 217 games, Mbappe has scored 171 goals for PSG in all competitions. 119 of them have come in Ligue 1. Prior to joining PSG, he also scored 27 goals in 60 appearances for Monaco. Notably, he has also contributed with 87 assists for Paris in all competitions so far. He has 39 goals and 26 assists in 2021-22.
PSG rejected £171.7m offer from Real last summer
Real had offered a staggering amount of money for Mbappe in the summer of 2021, despite the Frenchman having only one year left in his contract. However, PSG chose to reject the same, including a whopping £171.7m offer on Deadline Day. There was a belief that Mbappe would sign a pre-contract agreement in January but that didn't happen as he decided to wait.
Mbappe had an agreement with Real
Despite coming to an agreement with Real, Mbappe's mother Fayza Lamari said there was never a full agreement confirmed to the club. Prior to that, she said an agreement with both Real and PSG was reached and Mbappe would then decide. As per Fabrizio Romano, Mbappe called Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and informed him directly regarding his decision to stay at PSG.
Mbappe was coy on his next move
Mbappe took time to ponder on what he wanted in recent weeks by discussing with his camp. He didn't give a green light to Real, who had a contract ready since months and during that period PSG upped their offer of a new deal.
Has Qatar played a role?
As per Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, one of the reasons for Mbappe's decision to stay at PSG was the link between the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the Qatari owners of the club. There was pressure from Qatar which went to political authorities in France. Balague mentioned how French president Emmanuel Macron also got involved in putting pressure on Mbappe to stay put.
La Liga angry on Mbappe's decision
La Liga called the deal "scandalous" and announced its plans to complain to UEFA as well as other authorities. "This type of agreement threatens the economic sustainability of European football," read a statement. The statement added that this puts "hundreds of thousands of jobs and sporting integrity at risk in the medium term, not only from European competitions, but also from our domestic leagues".
Analysis of the scenario
Money played a significant role in seeing Mbappe decide to stay at PSG. Mbappe has always been a Real Madrid fan and the Spanish club was confident regarding his arrival. They had his word as well. However, both Real and Perez were left stunned with the happenings. Real were looking for a Galactico after the failure of Eden Hazard. They will find one.
Will Mbappe ever play for Real?
Real are a massive club and their success story is significant. Mbappe could eye a move in the next 3-4 years but Real have all possibilities of letting that go given how things ended up this time around. Real can always target other young stars.
