Kylian Mbappe has revealed why he will not move to Arsenal this summer when he departs PSG on a free transfer – and inadvertently went some way to confirming that he will move to Real Madrid in the process.
Mbappe is destined to leave the Ligue 1 leaders when his deal is up in June, and while this is not official, it is an open secret.
Real Madrid looks destined to be the club that Mbappe joins, but there was previously speculation that he could look to the Premier League.
FootballTransfers exclusively revealed last summer that Arsenal were considering the feasibility of a deal for the 25-year-old World Cup winner, who has ultimately proven outside of their grasp.
The player has confirmed as much in a video posted on X by Mikey Poulli, a young footballer who trains with the England blind team.
He had the opportunity to meet Mbappe and asked the PSG star if he would sign for Arsenal. The conversation went like this:
“Come to Arsenal,” Mikey told the World Cup winner.
“Arsenal!?” was Mbappe’s reply, laughing.
“We’ll look after you,” Mikey added.
“There’s no way, there’s no way,” the PSG star said.
“Why?” Mikey asked.
“It’s too cold there,” Mbappe said, shutting down the issue.
This is another hint from the PSG striker that he will be moving to Madrid, which is considerably warmer than both Paris and London.
Arsenal’s interest in Mbappe genuine
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had confirmed previously that the Gunners’ interest in the player was genuine.
Speaking to the press last month, he said: “When there is a player of that calibre we always have to be in the conversation but, as you say, it looks in a different way.
“Why not? If we want to be the best team, we are going to need the best talent and the best players.
“I am not involved. Maybe Edu and the owners are, I’m not in those conversations until the last stage.”