PSG
PSG: Leonardo hopeful Mbappe will sign up to new deal
Kylian Mbappé will soon enter the final six months of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, leaving the France forward free to speak to Real Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo has insisted he still believes in the possibility of superstar forward Kylian Mbappé signing a contract extension.
Mbappé will soon enter the final six months of his contract with PSG, who he joined, initially on loan, from Monaco in 2017.
The striker, who turns 23 on Monday, will be free to sign with another club outside of Ligue 1 on a pre-contract agreement from January, with Real Madrid determined to land the France star.
Los Blancos reportedly had three bids for Mbappé rejected by PSG in August.
Discussions over fresh terms between Mbappé and PSG have been ongoing for some time, but the player has always suggested he does not wish to extend his stay in Paris.
However, Leonardo has not given up hope and, after reiterating PSG's desire to keep Mbappé earlier this week, the Brazilian underlined his belief that an agreement can be reached.
Leonardo: "We are talking about the best player in the world"
In an interview with Europe 1 and Le Journal du Dimanche (LeJDD), set to be broadcast on Sunday, Leonardo said: "It's a very special situation because we are talking about the best player in the world who is coming to the end of his contract.
"We can say that there were times when we discussed more warmly, but that is part of building a relationship.
"People will think that we say that because we want to prolong it but it is beyond the interest of the club. At 22 years old, almost 23, Kylian has reached an incredible maturity.
"It's a complicated situation in the sense that we would like him to stay all his life and that we have to respect [the family's position]. I think we still have good possibilities to extend [the contract]. I believe in it."
Prior to PSG's Coupe de France clash with Feignies on Sunday, since the start of 2021, only Robert Lewandowski (58) and Erling Haaland (43) have scored more goals across all competitions than Mbappé (41), of players in Europe's "big five" leagues, outperforming his expected goals (xG) of 35.58.
Mbappé averages a goal every 107 minutes and has also provided 16 assists, creating 81 chances for team-mates.
However, his expected assists (xA) value of 10.84 suggests the opportunities laid on for his PSG club-mates have been finished exceptionally well.