What's Going On Between Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé?
Real Madrid's official statement regarding Kylian Mbappé raised more questions than it answered.
This season has been a breath of fresh air for Paris Saint-Germain supporters. The chemistry within the squad is improving with every match, and the results have also been positive. As things stand, Les Parisiens sits atop their UEFA Champions League group, and they’re only one point behind OGC Nice for the Ligue 1 lead.
More importantly, the stench of drama has relatively dissipated. That’s mainly due to PSG bidding farewell to Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. last summer. Still, even the speculation about Kylian Mbappé’s future had simmered down…that was until last Sunday.
The day after Paris Saint-Germain’s convincing win over Montpellier HSC at the Parc des Princes, Real Madrid released an official statement in response to reports in several publications, which indicated that Mbappé was negotiating with the Spanish club as his contract with PSG expires at the end of the current season. The statement reads as follows:
In the face of news stories broadcast and published by various media, which speculate about supposed negotiations between the player Kylian Mbappé and our club, Real Madrid want to state that these stories are absolutely false and said negotiations, with a player who belongs to PSG, have not taken place.”
Perhaps intentionally, the statement raises more questions than it answers. The most important thing you have to take from this article is that Real Madrid’s statement isn’t normal. Big clubs are mentioned in transfer rumors and speculation multiple times per day. Real Madrid couldn’t employ enough people to write statements for every rumor that implicates them. Furthermore, the Spanish giants are known to create some of the rumors themselves, so the fact they put out this statement immediately raises a red flag in my mind that something has changed either in the relationship between the player and club or in the negotiations.
Let’s explore what Real Madrid might be hinting at here:
Real Madrid and Mbappé are in negotiations
The worst-case scenario is the statement from Real Madrid is a smokescreen, and the two sides are negotiating what will be a highly complex contract. It’s plausible that Mbappé’s camp asked Los Blancos to put out the statement to quiet the rumor mill, as Mbappé deeply cares about PSG and doesn’t want the story to take over every press conference this season.
It’s been well documented that Mbappé admired Real Madrid as a child, but he also apparently supported AC Milan, so who knows what he truly wants. Technically, Mbappé can start negotiating with Real Madrid and even sign a pre-contract in January, so if this scenario is truly playing out, I would imagine we’ll hear more at the start of 2024.
Real Madrid and Mbappé are not in negotiations
Is it possible that Mbappé is ignoring Real Madrid’s advances to negotiate a deal now? Certainly, we know that Mbappé likes to focus on a season fully, and you rarely hear anything from him about his future when there are matches to be played. It is very likely that Mbappé has shut down official communications regarding his future.
Is it possible this is frustrating Real Madrid, especially after what happened the last time they thought they were close to signing the Frenchman? Absolutely. Remember, this is a club that historically gets any player they want. They can manipulate the media to unsettle a player and create so much pressure that a deal is almost a foregone conclusion. Those tactics don’t work with PSG, and they certainly don’t work with Mbappé. The statement could be a signal of frustration from the 14-time Champions League winners.
Mbappé has said no to Real Madrid
This would obviously be a dream scenario for PSG supporters, and it’s not that far-fetched. Mbappé is finally part of a proper sporting project at PSG. He leads an attack alongside France national teammates Ousmane Dembélé and Randal Kolo Muani. In the midfield, he has the talented Warren Zaïre-Emery, who just got called up to the France national team. He has a great partnership with Kang-In Lee, and Manuel Ugarte has been the perfect Marco Verratti replacement. Sure, the defense could use some help, but that can be easily fixed with one or two additional signings. Oh, and you can’t forget about the return of Xavi Simons next season from loan at RB Leipzig, where he is currently tearing up the Bundesliga.
You also have to consider the fact that Mbappé loves France and he’s from Paris. Winning the club’s first Champions League title would mean more to him and his legacy than anything he would accomplish at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid was fooled once by Mbappé, and I doubt they want to set themselves up for embarrassment once again. Suppose Mbappé is wavering on his commitment to them or has even told them he’s not signing. In that case, I can certainly see Real Madrid executives coming up with a plan to quiet all rumor and speculation so that it doesn’t appear as though he left them at the altar once again. Instead, they’ll be able to run with the story that they never really wanted to sign him this time anyway, and they’re happy with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior leading their team.
What do I think?
Of these scenarios, I think the most plausible is the two sides are not negotiating but with the caveat that things aren’t looking good for Real Madrid at the moment. I think they’re getting hints from Mbappé’s camp that he’s strongly considering signing a new contract with PSG. Maybe it’s the image rights issue, or maybe it’s the joy that Mbappé seems to be playing with and the fact that PSG finally stopped playing around and surrounded their superstar with complimentary players. Whatever it might be, I think PSG supporters can look at the statement from Real Madrid as a sign of good things to come.