José Manuel Otero, member of the board of directors at Real Madrid, has explained why he thinks Kylian Mbappé (25) decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain this summer and why he is confident that the Frenchman will soon come to the Spanish side.
The saga around Mbappé’s potential move was the main talking point of PSG’s transfer market and promises to be so again as the striker’s contract, which runs out on June 30th, has yet to be renewed. In a Spanish podcast, Remontada Blanca, a member of the board of directors at Real Madrid, confirmed the Spanish club’s long-standing interest and explained the disappointment of not having signed him this summer.
“Mbappé had and did not have the opportunity to come to Madrid last summer,” explained Otero. “To come, he would have to have given up the very high bonus granted to him at PSG. You also would have had to pay a transfer fee. The amount that would have had to be paid to have Mbappé a year before was disproportionate.”
However, the director remains confident of the Frenchman’s eventual arrival at the club. “I have confidence in his arrival,” he assured.
“He will achieve glory when he arrives at Real Madrid […] He will win a Champions League one day (in Madrid). Now, it seems that PSG is less powerful than before because they no longer have such good players. Real Madrid guarantees security and seriousness, which gives results. I have confidence he will say yes once he becomes a free agent. He was born to play for Real Madrid, that’s obvious.”
Otero also touched upon rumours of an agreement between Real Madrid and Mbappé last summer. “Zidane came at 29, Mbappé will come at 25,” he promised. “He will have many years with us. If we had taken a wrong step with Mbappé, PSG would have tried to react against Real Madrid. We know what we can do and what we must do. If Mbappé comes in 2024, as I hope, everything will be done correctly without anyone being able to accuse us of having an agreement with him. What they said last year, with (Nasser) Al-Khelaifi, who said that there was an agreement with Real Madrid, is false.”
Originally cast aside and made to train with the reserves due to his unwillingness to renew his contract, Mbappé has now returned to the starting lineup.
GFFN | Finn Entwistle
