REAL MADRID
Mbappé accepted Liverpool move before signing for Real Madrid
As revealed by L’Équipe, the striker asked to leave PSG two months after renewing in 2022 and even arrived at an agreement with the Premier League side.
After signing a two-year contract extension with an optional third year in May 2022, Kylian Mbappé soon threatened never to wear the Paris Saint-Germain shirt again. Feeling betrayed by the club’s unfulfilled promises to sign players like Robert Lewandowski and Bernardo Silva, Mbappé requested a transfer that summer. According to L’Équipe, he even reached an agreement with Liverpool, aiming for a short-term contract before eventually moving to Real Madrid.
Mbappé refused to play for PSG and sent a letter stating he would not extend his contract beyond the two years of his renewal. Liverpool came close to securing a deal, but PSG’s Antero Henrique, then in charge of sales, demanded a whopping €400 million for the French captain. Liverpool only offered €200 million, but were confident in their chances of signing him.
PSG immediately rejected Liverpool’s offer, seeking a record-breaking sale. The mystery continues with another source telling L’Équipe that Liverpool’s bid in fact never fully materialised, and the only formal offer PSG received during Mbappé's additional years in Paris was from a Saudi Arabian club.
Mbappé's frustration was clear to see in the summer of 2022, right after his renewal, when he missed PSG’s first game of the 2022/2023 season against Clermont. Although the official reason was “muscular discomfort,” the truth was that Mbappé refused to be called up to the squad, feeling betrayed by the club’s failure to deliver on their promises regarding the transfer market. The tension further increased with incidents like the “Penalty-Gate” with Neymar during the second match against Montpellier and Mbappé's subsequent attempt to leave PSG in January 2023.
In 2023, a year after his renewal, Mbappé sent a letter to PSG stating he would not extend his contract until 2025. This letter had been drafted back in August 2022, after his threat to stop playing for the club.
Surprised by this decision, PSG put him up for sale, exiled him from the squad, and eventually brought him back into the fold after he verbally agreed to give up €55 million. However, another dispute arose as PSG refused to pay said amount: Mbappé's lawyers are now seeking the money, arguing there is no evidence that the player indeed decided to accept giving up the debt.