Kylian Mbappe has said French president Emmanuel Macron told him to stay at Paris Saint-Germain rather than move to Real Madrid this summer.
Mbappe, 23, was on the brink of joining Madrid on a free transfer before a last-minute change of heart in May saw him sign a new three-year deal at PSG.
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The decision ended — for the time being — one of the most high-profile, long-running transfer sagas of recent years, with Mbappe having been Madrid’s long-term top target.
“I never imagined I’m gonna talk with the president [Macron] about my future,” Mbappe told the New York Times. “It’s something crazy, really something crazy.”
“He told me: ‘I want you to stay,” Mbappe said. “I don’t want you to leave now. You are so important for the country… Of course when the president says that to you, that counts.”
