Kylian Mbappé has announced he is leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, The announcement brings Real Madrid closer to ending their years-long pursuit of the France international, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in world football. PSG face Toulouse at the Parcs des Princes on Sunday, which will be Mbappé's final home game. His final game for the club is scheduled to be the French Cup final against Lyon on May 15.
He said in a video posted to Instagram: "Hi everyone, it's Kylian. I wanted to speak to you, I've always said that I would speak with you when the time comes and so I wanted to announce to you all that it's my last year at Paris Saint-Germain.
"I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks. I will play my last game at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
"It's a lot of emotions, many years where I had the chance and the great honour to be a member of the biggest French club, one of the best in the world which allowed me to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player of course, by being alongside some of the best in history, some of the greatest champions, to meet a lot of people, to grow as a man as well with all the glory and the mistakes I've made."
Mbappé thanked all four managers he has played for at PSG including Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier and Luis Enrique, as well as the club's sporting directors.
He added: "Despite everything that can happen on the outside, all this media hype that surrounds the club sometimes, there are some real club lovers who want to protect it and make it shine and it's great and to know that with all these people, this club is in great hands.
"It's hard, and I never thought it would be this difficult to announce that, to leave my country, France, the Ligue 1, a championship I have always known but I think, I needed this, a new challenge, after seven years."
Mbappe has not confirmed his next destination but the writing seems to be on the wall and several journalists are reporting that he will join Real Madrid.
The future of the France captain has been a long-running saga. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are among the English clubs to have been tipped with a move for the forward alongside Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Journalist David Ornstein has explained that PSG will save €200m-per-year when Mbappe leaves the club and will focus on building a youthful team. PSG and Mbappe are expected to announce the decision when terms are fully agreed.
The 25-year-old was briefly exiled from PSG’s first team in the summer after refusing to trigger a 12-month extension to his contract. That decision is claimed to have solely rested with Mbappe, much to PSG’s frustration, but he was soon reintegrated into the squad. Despite the noise around his future, Mbappe has scored 31 goals in 30 games so far this season.
The Independent recently stated that Mbappe has already received an offer from Real Madrid, who have long been touted as his next destination. As his contract is ticking down, he is free to discuss pre-contract agreements with clubs outside of France.
Mbappe may be set to become a free agent but the fees involved in signing the forward are still expected to be significant.
