France captain Kylian Mbappe has informed officials at Paris Saint-Germain that he plans to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, according to a source close to the Ligue 1 winners on Thursday.
The 25-year-old, who joined PSG from Monaco in 2017, had his contract extended in 2022 until 2024, but last summer declined to activate a condition that would have allowed him to stay another year.
Mbappe has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, and according to a source close to the situation, he has already begun talks with the Spanish club.
“The terms of the departure have yet to be fully agreed,” the source added, adding that the club and Mbappe will issue an official statement “when everything is finalised in the next few months”.
PSG declined to comment when reached by AFP.
Mbappe will leave PSG on a free transfer, but the club’s loss will be mitigated by a deal signed last summer that will see the player forego bonuses of about 60 to 70 million euros ($65.6 million to $76.6 million).
After seven seasons at PSG, Mbappe, the club’s all-time leading scorer, appears to be on his way to Real Madrid, a club he has wanted to play for since he was a child.
Real Madrid have made no secret of their intention to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu.Florentino Perez, the club’s president, explored signing him in 2019, 2021, and 2022, but was turned down each time.
For PSG, the loss of their major star, a year after the departures of Neymar and Lionel Messi, heralds the start of a new period of uncertainty.