Kylian Mbappé: "I hope the Madrid fans understand that I wanted to stay in my country"

There will have been money, and a lot, as there would have been if he had decided to take the step to go to Real Madrid.

But what led Kylian Mbappé to decide to stay at Paris Saint-Germain for another three years was, the French striker said on Monday, his will to continue in France —"my country", he insisted on several occasions— and to take his team to the highest levels of the sport.

“I understand the disappointment of the Madrid fans, but I hope they understand that I have decided to stay in my country, because I am French and, as I said, as a Frenchman I want to continue here for a while and take France and this club to the top”, said Mbappé in a message to the Madridistas in his first statements to the press since, on Saturday night, he announced to the supporters of the Parisian club his decision to stay and reject the Madrid club's offer.

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"Everyone knew that a year ago I wanted to leave and that I was intimately convinced that [Real Madrid] was the best possible decision," he added at another point in the press conference held at the Parc des Princes with the president. of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

However, he stressed, the "context" is "different" today, on various levels: "In sports, but also in private."

And above all, he indicated, there is a sentimental side: France "is a country in which I want to live, in which I want to grow old, to which I will return when I finish my degree," he insisted.

In addition, he said, the "sports project has changed" and PSG's plan has made him "want to continue".

"I feel that my story here is not over and that I still have good chapters to write here," he added.

Al Khelaifi also assured that the decision was not motivated by money.

“The money for Kylian is not the most important thing, the most important thing is the sports project, to win.

There are other clubs, in Spain, willing to pay more”, he said when asked by a Spanish journalist.

Although the Madridistas held out hope of getting Mbappé until the last moment, the truth is that the player had decided to stay in Paris well before announcing it on Saturday night.

"I made the decision last week," he revealed on Monday.

Not even his teammates knew about it "because the club didn't want it, they wanted it to be a secret, a surprise for everyone."

Of course, Mbappé assured, before making the announcement among fans and with great fanfare in the Parc des Princes, just before the last game of the French season, he had the gesture of personally communicating it to the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, “ out of respect."

“I called Florentino, I have a lot of respect for him and for his club.

They have done everything right with me and have tried to make me as happy as possible, something that I appreciate.

It was my duty to speak to him personally,” he explained.

So the call took place, according to his account, before the decision was made public and even before "finishing the details of the contract" with PSG.

In any case, Mbappé rejects the accusations of disrespect for having acted as he has.

"He had no agreement with anyone," he asserted in subsequent statements to various French media, including

.

“I have always worked like this.

We discuss the contours of the contracts.

But I had no agreement, ”he insisted.

“I haven't said no to Real Madrid.

I said yes to France and PSG.

I felt the call of the homeland and the capital.

It was too early to leave for free”, he added, brandishing once again the patriotic sentiments above, according to his version, any economic interest.

Much has also been said about peer pressure and even the political world.

In the press conference, Mbappé limited himself to affirming that, in the locker room, stars like Lionel Messi or Neymar did not pressure him.

“We talk a little, but not much.

They have always told me that it was a personal decision and that they would respect it, ”he asserted.

He did not speak either, he assured later in

, with Karim Benzema.

“I know that everyone was talking about Karim and Kylian, Kylian and Karim… But in the selection, we only talked about the menu of the night.

I didn't want to force things.

When we meet, we'll talk.

I will explain my decision to you, ”he said, while he considered that the messages sent by Benzema through Instagram — his bandaged hand pointing to the shield in a

, and another in which there is a photograph showing Tupac, the murdered rapper, with the person who supposedly betrayed him behind—they have all the appearance of “coming from the top”.

Later, in statements also to the BMFTV chain, he confessed another open secret these days: that the threads to tie the striker to Paris were even thrown from the Elysee.

"Yes, we talked," he said about whether French President Emmanuel Macron called him.

He gave him "good advice", he declared to the French chain, although he stressed that it was not Macron who tipped the scales in his decision.

“I told him about my decision.

He told me that he was very happy and that it was very good news for the country,” he said of one of several conversations he said they had.

Still, they did not change his mind.

“I have a lot of respect for him [for Macron], but I don't make my decision because he asks me to stay.

Although he was a factor, among others, ”he indicated.

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