Kylian Mbappé has announced he is leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, after which he is expected to join Real Madrid.
The announcement brings Real Madrid closer to ending their yearslong pursuit of the France international, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in world football.
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PSG face Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Sunday, which will be Mbappé’s final home game. His final game for the club is scheduled to be the French Cup final against Lyon on May 15.
He said in a video posted to Instagram: “Hi everyone, it’s Kylian. I wanted to speak to you. I’ve always said that I would speak with you when the time comes and so I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain.
“I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks. I will play my last game at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
“It’s a lot of emotions, many years where I had the chance and the great honour to be a member of the biggest French club, one of the best in the world which allowed me to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player of course, by being alongside some of the best in history, some of the greatest champions, to meet a lot of people, to grow as a man as well with all the glory and the mistakes I’ve made.”
Mbappé thanked all five managers he has played for at PSG — Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier and Luis Enrique — as well as the club’s sporting directors.
He added: “Despite everything that can happen on the outside, all this media hype that surrounds the club sometimes, there are some real club lovers who want to protect it and make it shine, and it’s great, and I know that with all these people, this club is in great hands.
“It’s hard, and I never thought it would be this difficult to announce that, to leave my country, France, the Ligue 1, a championship I have always known but I think, I needed this, a new challenge, after seven years.”
That new challenge is likely to come in Madrid. Sources told ESPN Mbappé is still expected to join Madrid, having been in negotiations with the club since at least February.
In 2017, after starring for Monaco, Mbappé came close to joining Madrid, but he chose PSG instead after the club agreed a world-record deal for a teenager, worth €180 million.
Mbappé went on to become PSG’s club captain and all-time top scorer with 255 goals, winning six Ligue 1 titles in seven seasons.
At international level, he won the World Cup with France in 2018 and scored a hat trick in their World Cup final defeat to Argentina four years later.
“It’s a club that I will keep in my memory my entire life. I will tell everybody, my whole life, that I had the chance to play here and I won’t be a player anymore, but I will continue to watch every game of course, because it’s a club that I will always be interested in and I will always closely follow up its news,” Mbappé added.
“It was me, with my qualities and defects, but I tried to give the best version of myself during those seven years. But beforehand I want to say thank you because without you all I would have never experienced half of the emotions I felt. And just for that, I am grateful for life. Thank you all.
“I hope we will finish this year with a last trophy. We are going to have good moments for what’s left, and believe that you will remain in my heart forever. Ici c’est Paris. Goodbye.”