PARIS – France captain Kylian Mbappe will join LaLiga giants Real Madrid when his contract with Paris St Germain (PSG) expires at the end of the season, Le Parisien and ESPN reported on Saturday.
Mbappe said last year that he would not extend his Ligue 1 contract when it expired at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, allowing him to move to another club on a free transfer.
Citing sources, French newspaper Le Parisien and ESPN said the 25-year-old striker will announce a pre-contract with the 14-time European champions next week.
Media reports last September said Mbappe had agreed to forego loyalty bonuses worth up to 100 million euros ($107.84 million) to leave PSG as a free agent.
Last year, the 25-year-old said he would not extend his contract at PSG, which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he could leave Paris for free. He can now sign a pre-contract with a new club.
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The 2018 World Cup winner joined PSG as a 17-year-old in 2017 from AS Monaco, where he has since become the club’s top scorer and led the French side to five league titles.
Mbappe has been heavily linked with a move to Real in 2022, but announced a contract extension with PSG just weeks before the transfer window opened.
The superstar striker is considered unrivaled on the pitch and is seen as such a symbol of French excellence. When there were rumors of his departure to Madrid in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron called him and urged him to stay.
