15 January 2024 , 02:00
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Kylian Mbappe has been tipped to reject Real Madrid and Liverpool in order to remain at Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe was widely expected to leave PSG this summer when his contract expires, having informed the club in June last year that he was not planning to extend his current deal. The 25-year-old has come close to joining Real twice and the La Liga giants had hoped they would finally be able to sign him this year.
Liverpool have also been linked with Mbappe and ESPN reported earlier this month that Anfield and the Bernabeu were the forward's 'most likely destinations should he opt to leave the French capital'.
However, PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi is hopeful that Mbappe can be persuaded to stay. "Look, I am not trying to hide anything," Al Khelaïfi said on the Rothen s'enflamme RMC podcast.
"I want Kylian Mbappe to stay at PSG. He's the best player in the world and the best club for him is PSG. He is central to our project. We have done a lot of things, some have worked more than others.
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"We have made mistakes and this is normal. Now we have a young team, with French players, and we are not in a hurry, this is for the long-term.
"We have put together a team that is solid on a technical level and our system of play has been changed and it is a pleasure to watch this team. We play as a team, we defend as a team, it is magnificent."
Mbappe has been tipped to stay at PSG (Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)And former PSG manager Luis Fernandez expects Mbappe to remain at PSG, citing the fact that they have signed two "friends that Kylian wanted to have by his side" this season in Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele. "[I think that] he will stay at PSG," Fernandez told beIN Sports.
"When I hear everyone's statements, from the president of PSG, who takes the initiative and talks about the issue, when I see Kylian doing the same after a match about a signed agreement, when I see that PSG wants to invest in this new technical centre.
"We have brought Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele, who are friends that Kylian wanted to have by his side. I think he will stay at PSG next season."