Kylian Mbappé has begun his third season at Real Madrid, his second with the iconic number 10 on his back. The love story could have started nine years ago if PSG had not thwarted the plans of the Casa Blanca. Neymar’s transfer greatly influenced his decision to wear the Paris Saint-Germain jersey rather than opt for that of Real Madrid. This is indeed the revelation made by his former teammate Thiago Silva during the last season.
Everything moved very quickly for Kylian Mbappé. The 2016/2017 season was his first full campaign with AS Monaco. On Le Rocher, the young kid from Bondy reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, eliminating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund along the way. At the same time, AS Monaco won Ligue 1 for the 8th time in their history, ending a 17-year drought. Mbappé was one of the architects of the temporary halt to PSG’s dominance in Ligue 1 since 2013. And that was the first turning point in his career.
«Why did I choose PSG? Because PSG is my city’s team»
At just 18 years old, only a few months before his 19th birthday that he could have celebrated as a Real Madrid player alongside his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, or Sergio Ramos, Kylian Mbappé made the decision to reject the advances of president Florentino Pérez, who was ready to put €180M on the table. An offer matched by PSG in the final stretch of the summer transfer window. In December 2018, Mbappé opened up to Marca about the outcome of the saga surrounding his future. A particularly satisfying ending. «Why did I choose PSG? Because PSG is my city’s team. It’s as if a Madrid kid from Real has the opportunity to play for his team and goes elsewhere, to another country. No, no, I wanted to play for PSG and I’m very happy for now with how things are going. There were a lot of transfer rumors, it’s certain that we talked, but I believe that now it’s over for me and for Real Madrid. Now I play for PSG and I will defend these colors 100%».
«At the end of the match, he came to me and said: ‘If Neymar comes, I want to come too’»
Kylian Mbappé did not simply choose to defend the red and blue colors of Paris Saint-Germain because of his ties to the Paris region. His former PSG captain spoke a few months ago to Ligue 1+ about the club’s current affairs. And Thiago Silva revealed a previously secret discussion with Kylian Mbappé at the end of the Trophée des Champions in the summer of 2017. «I remember very well the Trophée des Champions against Mbappé’s Monaco. At the end of the match, he came to me and said: ‘If Neymar comes, I want to come too. You can talk to the president about it. I also want to be part of this team’. Neymar signed and Mbappé arrived».
«An incredible friendship was formed from the start»
The scales had therefore tipped in favor of Paris Saint-Germain for Kylian Mbappé, notably thanks to the presence of Neymar, who arrived in early August from FC Barcelona for a €222M fee. With the auriverde star, the two men formed a close relationship that eventually faded over time. «An incredible friendship was formed from the start. Then a few years later, what happened happened. I am a bit disappointed by the turn of events. It should have happened differently».
