Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has been long rumored to join La Liga side Real Madrid. With the French forward set to become a free agent in a couple of years, the rumors have ramped up a bit as of late. But a few years ago, Mbappe once gave serious consideration to ending his PSG stint early and joining Real Madrid.
Current Villarreal manager Unai Emery recently spoke to El Partidazo de COPE and Radio MARCA about his current run with the Spanish side. The former PSG manager was also asked about Mbappe, a player whom he managed over just a lone season during the 2017/2018 campaign. Emery wound up dropping a bombshell claim on Mbappe and his once serious desire to join Real Madrid.
“When I was in Paris, Mbappe very seriously contemplated going to Real Madrid because he likes it a lot, he was very excited to play for Madrid,” Emery said.
In the end, Emery helped convince Mbappe to put a pause on his ambition to join Real Madrid and stay on with PSG.
“I didn’t want him to leave and I had a conversation with him and his father to convince him that he had to stay, leaving Paris is not easy,” Emery said.
This all likely occurred over the latter half of the 2017-2018 season. Mbappe signed with PSG over the previous year from AS Monaco on a season-long loan agreement with the option to buy. PSG planned from the get-go to trigger the buy option but had Mbappe pushed to sign with Real Madrid instead, he would have returned to Monaco and then waited for the two clubs to complete a permanent transfer deal.
Now, with the recent Real Madrid links to Mbappe, it seems that current PSG manager Thomas Tuchel will now have to do what Emery did and help convince the French forward to once again stay with PSG and resist leaving for the La Liga side.
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