PARIS: Kylian Mbappe has decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain despite weeks of speculation linking the forward to a move to Real Madrid, according to widespread reports on Saturday.

The French World Cup winner has made up his mind to remain faithful to PSG and is poised to sign a three-year extension to his contract which ends on June 30, French sport daily L’Equipe and Spanish sports paper Marca reported.

The player’s entourage refused to elaborate but reports suggest PSG could make a statement later on Saturday when the club are playing Metz in their final match of the season at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe has made no secret of his desire to play one day for Real, who will play Liverpool in the Champions League final next weekend after securing a 35th Spanish title.

According to Marca and RMC, Mbappe has informed Real president Florentino Perez of his decision to remain at the French champions.

The 23-year-old, one of the game’s finest talents who burst onto the scene as a teenager and helped France win the World Cup in 2018, was set to leave on a free transfer when his contract expired at the end of the season.

PSG signed Mbappe from AS Monaco in 2017 in a deal reported to be about 180 million euros, making him the world’s second-most expensive signing after Neymar, who joined PSG from Barcelona for 222 million euros.

Real’s bid to sign Mbappe last year was rejected by the Parisian club, who appeared prepared to lose him on a free transfer this year.

Reports last year claimed the Spanish champions had offered PSG as much as 200 million euros for the Frenchman.

PSG had no intention of selling their young talisman in their quest for Champions League glory, but the French club fell well short this season when Real staged a dramatic second-leg comeback in the last-16 to knock them out of the competition.

PSG had been reinforced last year with the signing of Lionel Messi from Barcelona to add firepower to a star-studded squad. But apart from reclaiming the Ligue 1 title, the French club failed to win any other trophies.

Mbappe, however, excelled individually, scoring 36 goals and providing 26 assists for PSG in all competitions this season.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2022