PSG director: Real Madrid target Mbappe 'wants to leave'

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo said Wednesday it’s clear that Kylian Mbappe “wants to leave” after the club refused a huge €160-million bid from Real Madrid, according to RMC Sport.

“Real Madrid’s official offer is very far from what we want for Kylian,” Leonardo said, The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano reports. “Yes, it’s around €160 million. It’s less than what we paid for him in 2017.”

Leonardo described Real Madrid’s approach of contacting the player without PSG’s permission as “disrespectful, incorrect, and illegal.”

PSG have executed one of the most aggressive transfer windows in the sport’s history by attracting Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, Danilo Pereira, and, most notably, Lionel Messi to the club. Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Marco Verratti, Marquinhos, and other superstars remain at the Parc des Princes.

The frenzied summer activity is designed to propel Qatari-owned PSG to their first Champions League title.

“There’s no one more competitive than us. He has no reason to do anything else (other than stay),” club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said when asked about Mbappe’s future earlier in August.

However, that isn’t enough for Mbappe. The Frenchman is in the final year of his PSG deal and has reportedly refused three new contract offers from Les Parisiens.

“I want to think about what I want to do in the coming years, where I want to be. That’s what I am reflecting on,” Mbappe said in January of his reluctance to commit to fresh terms.

Leonardo added that if Mbappe “wants to leave, we will not retain him, but he will leave or stay on our terms,” and that “the club, the project, remain above everyone.”

Mbappe, who arrived at PSG from AS Monaco in September 2017 for around €180 million, has scored 133 goals over 174 PSG appearances, scooping up three Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de Frances, and other domestic club honors in the process.