PARIS, Jan 10 — Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Tuesday that he wants Kylian Mbappe to stay in the French capital, claiming PSG is “the best club for him”.
Mbappe’s contract with the Ligue 1 champions runs out at the end of June and he is free to sign an agreement to join a new club for next season.
“I’m not going to hide that I want Kylian to stay,” Al-Khelaifi told broadcaster RMC.
“The best player in the world is Kylian and the best club for him is Paris.”
PSG have yet to win a maiden Champions League title despite spending billions of euros on transfer fees since the arrival of their Qatari owners in 2011.
Mbappe has been heavily linked with a possible move to 14-time European champions Real Madrid.
“He has the best training centre in the world, the best coach in the world (Luis Enrique),” said Al-Khelaifi.
“Every year he’s sure of playing in the Champions League, we’re in the last 16 at least, quarter-finals, even semi-finals or final, we’re there with the big clubs.”
A source involved in Mbappe’s contract negotiations told AFP last week that the France forward had waived bonuses totalling “several tens of millions” of euros in a bid to ease a move away from PSG.
Mbappe signed a contract extension in 2022 which secured him a salary of 72 million euros (US$78.7 million) per year, a signing bonus of 150 million euros and a loyalty bonus which rose from 70 million euros in year one to 90 million in year three, according to Le Parisien.
But Al-Khelaifi insisted whether Mbappe stays or not “is not a question of money”.
“We have a lot of very important matches, I ask for you to leave Kylian alone, leave him alone.”
Mbappe has scored 24 goals in all competitions for Ligue 1 leaders PSG this season. — AFP
