La Liga president Javier Tebas has said that Kylian Mbappé’s (24) move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid is “destiny” in an interview with Movistar+.
Mbappé was close to joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer, however, he opted to remain at PSG, extending his contract until 2024. There was an option for Mbappé to extend that deal until 2025, and in the wake of the France captain’s refusal to trigger that extension, he was frozen out of the setup at Les Parisiens.
The AS Monaco academy product was left out of the team’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea and his exile seeped into the Ligue 1 season as he was omitted from the matchday squad to face FC Lorient. PSG’s decision to freeze out was an attempt to garner a fee for the Frenchman, who would otherwise leave on a free next summer. Ultimately, however, Mbappé was opposed to a departure, despite interest from Saudi Arabia. Real Madrid have a long-standing interest, but they weren’t necessarily willing to pay a large fee for a player that they could sign for free the following year.
Tebas has now spoken about the chances of Mbappé joining La Liga at the end of the current campaign. “[Am I] convinced? No. But it’s his destiny. I am 70 or 80% sure that he will be in La Liga next season,” said the president of the league.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
