Real Madrid still lead the Mbappe race

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Real Madrid are reportedly still the front-runners to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain next summer.

The French star has been linked with Los Blancos ever since they parted ways with Cristiano Ronaldo, with plenty of reports since then claiming that he was the main candidate to replace the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Links with other clubs appeared later, with Juventus named as a strong contestant to bring Mbappe in for the same purpose – to be the long term successor to Ronaldo – while the player himself spoke in glowing words about Liverpool last season and their winning relentlessness which eventually brought the Merseysiders the long-elusive Premier League title. The player apparently views the English top flight as an attractive proposition. Barcelona have also been mentioned as interested in bringing him to Spain, with Lionel Messi likely to leave the Camp Nou.

However, as reported by Le Parisien (via AS), Mbappe still has his heart set on a move to Madrid. His contract with PSG runs until the summer of 2022, but he appears extremely unlikely to accept a new one, which would probably prompt the Ligue 1 champions to sell at the end of this season to avoid losing a player of such worth for nothing.

PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel has been quoted in telling El Partidazo:

“When we were in Paris, Mbappé was hopeful of joining Real Madrid. I didn’t want that to happen and spoke to his father. At the time, he was seriously considering a move to Madrid”.