PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Tuesday that he wants Kylian Mbappe to stay in the French capital, claiming PSG is “the best club for him”.

Mbappe’s contract with the Ligue 1 champions runs out at the end of June and he is free to sign an agreement to join a new club for next season.

“I’m not going to hide that I want Kylian to stay,” Al-Khelaifi told broadcaster RMC. “The best player in the world is Kylian and the best club for him is Paris.”

PSG have yet to win a maiden Champions League title despite spending billions of euros on transfer fees since the arrival of their Qatari owners in 2011.

Mbappe has been heavily linked with a possible move to 14-time European champions Real Madrid.

“He has the best training centre in the world, the best coach in the world [Luis Enrique],” said Al-Khelaifi.

“Every year he’s sure of playing in the Champions League, we’re in the last 16 at least, quarter-finals, even semi-finals or final, we’re there with the big clubs.”

A source involved in Mbappe’s contract negotiations told AFP last week that the France forward had waived bonuses totalling “several tens of millions” of euros in a bid to ease a move away from PSG.

Mbappe signed a contract extension in 2022 which secured him a salary of 72 million euros ($78.7 million) per year, a signing bonus of 150 million euros and a loyalty bonus which rose from 70 million euros in year one to 90 million in year three, according to Le Parisien.

But Al-Khelaifi insisted whether Mbappe stays or not “is not a question of money”.

“We have a lot of very important matches, I ask for you to leave Kylian alone, leave him alone.”

Mbappe has scored 24 goals in all competitions for Ligue 1 leaders PSG this season.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024