Real Madrid News
Mbappe opens up on decision to snub Real Madrid and stay at PSG: “It’s really crazy”
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe has again spoken about his decision to remain at the club in the summer when it looked like he would be joining Real Madrid.
Everything seemed set with regard to Mbappe’s move to the Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent until he made a last-minute swerve and decided to sign a new bumper contract with PSG, committing his future to the French club for three more years.
Mbappe has previously spoken about how conversations with France president Emmanuel Macron influenced his decision to remain at Parc des Princes. And, he has once again iterated that the phone calls with Macron played a key role in his staying at PSG.
“It was some calls from Macron. It was like December, January, February, March… Macron called me and said: ‘I know you want to leave. I want to tell you that you are also important in France. I don’t want you to leave. You have the opportunity to write history here. Everyone loves you,'” Mbappe said.
The French international added: “I told him I appreciated it because it’s really crazy. The president calls you and wants you to stay.”
Further elaborating on his decision, Mbappe added: “Of course, it was easier to go to Real Madrid. But I have this ambition. I’m French. I’m a child of Paris, and to win in Paris, it’s something really special. It writes your name in the history of your country for life.”
Mbappe also opened up on how his life had changed after winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup while also admitting that the criticism he faced after France’s UEFA Euro 2020 elimination also made him consider leaving the country.
“That changed my life. I was already famous before, but after the World Cup, it was crazy. It took me a while to learn to keep calm,” Mbappe said.
“I thought: ‘I can’t play for people who think I am a monkey’. I am not going to play anymore. Then I reflected with the people around me and they encouraged me to continue. Giving up was not a good message because I am an example for people,” he explained.
Despite his decision to stay at PSG, recent reports have been indicating that all is not well between the two parties and Mbappe is already looking for a way out. Real Madrid, though, are believed to have no interest in signing the 23-year-old after his snub in the summer.
It is astounding that despite being the biggest club in Spain, Real Madrid do not have many Spanish players to show for it.
Los Blancos do indeed boast of a special diversity in the dressing room, but their lack of locally trained players could pose problems according to MARCA.
The Spanish outlet confirms that UEFA does not mandate the inclusion of any minimum number of locally grown players for a club. However, the Spanish federation stipulates that a club in Spain must boast of at least eight players who meet a specific set of conditions.
Of the aforementioned eight candidates, there must be at least four players who have spent three seasons or 36 months at the club between the ages of 15 and 21.
Currently, only Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Mariano make up the required number on that front.
The problem, however, arises with the condition for the other four players in the list of eight. RFEF stipulates that the second set of four players must have completed at least 36 months in teams attached to the federation of Spain between the ages of 15 and 21.
Only Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Odriozola, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos tick the aforementioned box. However, all four players have uncertain futures at the club and are well-placed to depart in the summer.
There are thus big decisions to be taken over the transfer strategy for June. Real Madrid can work ways to ship all four players out, it would require the re-integration of players like Sergio Arribas, Miguel Gutierrez or Fran Garcia to ensure the fulfilment of the criteria.
With both Vallejo and Odriozola seemingly frozen out of Ancelotti’s plans, their departures from Santiago Bernabeu appear inevitable. Thus, the management could be forced to renew one of Asensio or Ceballos come June.
