PARIS – Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe said he has not made up his mind about where he will play next season as his contract enters its final six months.
The France captain said in 2023 that he would not renew his PSG contract, which expires at the end of this season, when he could leave the club for free. The 25-year-old, who has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid, is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club. But he maintained that he still wants to win while at PSG.
“First of all, I’m very, very, very motivated for this year. It’s very important,” said Mbappe after scoring a goal in PSG’s 2-0 win over Toulouse in the French Super Cup final on Jan 3.
“As I said, we’ve got titles to go after and we’ve already won one, so that’s already done. After that, no, I haven’t made up my mind yet. But in any case, with the agreement I made with the chairman (Nasser Al-Khelaifi) this summer, it doesn’t matter what I decide.
“We managed to protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead, which remains the most important thing. So we’ll say (my future’s) secondary.”
Media reports in September said Mbappe had agreed to forgo loyalty bonuses worth up to €100 million (S$146 million) if he left PSG on a free transfer. In 2022, Mbappe waited until May to announce a contract extension at PSG, just weeks before the transfer window opened. He said he may not leave it so late this time around.
“It was the end of May in 2022 because I didn’t know until May,” he added. “If I know what I want to do, why drag it out? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Lee Kang-in put PSG ahead in the third minute at the Parc des Princes before Mbappe added a second goal just before half-time, as the French giants won their first piece of silverware under former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.
Lee and Achraf Hakimi were playing their final game before heading off to the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations with South Korea and Morocco respectively.
If their countries go all the way, they will not return to PSG until just before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Sociedad on Feb 14. REUTERS, AFP
