Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain he will leave the club at the end of the season.
The France international informed PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi he would not stay at the club when his contract expires, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because Mbappe hasn’t made his decision public yet.
One person said Mbappe — who has previously been pursued by Real Madrid — did not indicate which club he would join next.
PSG declined to comment, but a second person with knowledge of Mbappe’s decision said the terms of his departure were still being worked out with the club and an official statement would not come until that has been finalized.
Mbappe — widely considered to be one of the best players in the world — will be a free agent at the end of the season after seven years with PSG.
He informed the club last year that he would not trigger an extension to the contract he signed in 2021.
While Madrid seems like the most probable destination for Mbappe, his departure from PSG is likely to spark a bidding war between a host of other clubs eager to sign the former World Cup winner.
The 25-year-old Mbappe has been at PSG since 2017 after signing from Monaco in a transfer worth a reported $190 million.
In 2021, PSG turned down a bid of $190 million from Real Madrid for the forward, who went on to sign his current contract.
Mbappe will be the latest superstar player to leave the French club in recent times following the departures of Lionel Messi and Neymar last year.
He won five French league titles with PSG, but has so far failed to lead it to success in the Champions League.
He could still go out on a high by winning European club soccer’s biggest prize this season. He scored in PSG’s 2-0 win on Wednesday over Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16.
Mbappe’s decision brings an end to a drawn-out saga that has overshadowed his final year at the club.
PSG has already made moves to shift its focus over the past 12 months in light of the exits of Messi and Neymar.
PSG has been owned by Qatar Sports Investments since 2011 and dominated French soccer with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mbappe, Neymar and Messi. But it has begun to shift away from that model with signings like Randal Kolo Muani last year.
Mbappe has long been seen as a successor to Karim Benzema at Madrid, who left the Spanish giant for Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia last year.
from Sportsnet.ca
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