Before choosing Paris Saint-Germain over Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about his future plans.
Two weeks ago, the Kylian Mbappe drama came to a conclusion. The French attacker has decided to stay with PSG after nearly a year of conflicting rumours.
Real had been attempting to lure him to the Bernabeu since last summer, when they launched a rumoured £180 million bid despite the fact that he was approaching the end of his contract at Paris, in order to avoid missing out on him.
Because the Ligue 1 heavyweights refused to sell, it came down to who could persuade him to accept a contract, with neither side willing to give up.
There have been rumors that the French team would approach Macron to encourage the World Cup winner to stay since September, and it appears that Macron did speak with him.
“I have never been involved in any transfer,” the En Marche leader said, via Marca.
“Simply, like any other citizen, when it comes to sporting issues I always want to see a good game and cheer on a team, especially, in my case, Olympique Marseille.
“Yes, it is true that he had a conversation with Kylian Mbappe before he made a firm decision about his future.
“In that talk, I limited myself to advising him, in a totally informal way, to stay in France. I think it is my responsibility, as president, to defend the country when asked in an informal and friendly way.”
Certainly, Macron is correct that keeping Mbappe is better for the country and for the prestige of Ligue 1 in being able to keep the best names.
The 23-year-refusal old’s to go to Spain irritated La Liga, with league president Javier Tebas calling it an “insult to football.”
UEFA, on the other hand, is not interested in hearing his objections, stating that they will not be told what to do after La Liga lodged an official complaint against the French champions.
But what chance did Real have when the country’s leader was literally attempting to keep Mbappe there? However, if Boris Johnson attempted to keep a player in England, they would almost probably depart.
