Mbappé’s move to PSG: was it a snap decision made on the pitch?

Kylian Mbappé is now in his third season at Real Madrid, wearing the iconic number 10 shirt for the second year running. But his dream move to the Spanish capital could have happened nine years earlier if Paris Saint-Germain hadn’t intervened. The arrival of Neymar at PSG played a pivotal role in Mbappé’s decision to join the Parisian club instead of Real Madrid. This revelation came from his former teammate Thiago Silva during the previous season.

Why did Mbappé choose PSG? ‘because it’s my hometown club’

At just 18 years old, months before his 19th birthday—which he could have celebrated as a Real Madrid player alongside his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos—Kylian Mbappé decided to reject the advances of president Florentino Pérez, who was ready to put 180 million euros on the table. PSG matched that offer in the final stretch of the summer transfer window. In December 2018, Mbappé spoke to Marca about the end of the saga surrounding his future. A particularly satisfying outcome. “Why did I choose PSG? Because PSG is my hometown team. It’s like a kid from Madrid who has the chance to play for Real and goes elsewhere, to another country. No, no, I wanted to play for PSG and I’m very happy with how things are going. There were a lot of transfer rumors, it’s certain we talked, but I think that’s in the past 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’

However, Kylian Mbappé didn’t simply choose to wear the red and blue 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 news. And Thiago Silva revealed a previously secret conversation with Kylian Mbappé after 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 formed from the start’

The scales tipped in favor of Paris Saint-Germain for Kylian Mbappé, largely due to the presence of Neymar, who had arrived in early August from FC Barcelona for a fee of 222 million euros. With the Brazilian star, the two formed a close bond that eventually faded over time. “An incredible friendship formed from the start. Then a few years later, what happened happened. I’m a bit disappointed by how things turned out. It should have gone differently.”

By Marguerite Ndongo — Political and Security Analyst