Paris Saint-Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe has reportedly informed the club that he will be leaving the Parc des Princes this summer.
For the past few years, the 25-year-old's long-term future has dominated the talk of the transfer market, as Real Madrid have fought tooth and nail to bring him to the Bernabeu.
Los Blancos tried their luck with a €200m (£171.1m) bid in the last knockings of the 2021 window, and while they failed in that effort, a free transfer to the Spanish capital was seemingly on the cards in 2022.
However, to Real Madrid's surprise, Mbappe put pen to paper on a new contract with Les Parisiens, committing his future to the French champions until 2024 with the option of a further year.
Last summer, though, Mbappe told PSG that he did not plan on activating the 12-month extension in his deal, leaving Les Parisiens at risk of losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season after they failed to offload him.
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Mbappe was momentarily frozen out of the squad before being re-integrated, and PSG had not given up hope of agreeing fresh terms with the former Monaco protege, but the long-running soap opera now appears to be drawing to a close.
According to The Athletic and multiple other outlets, Mbappe has now told PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi - who previously insisted that the attacker would not be leaving on a free transfer - that he will pack his bags once his deal runs out in June.
The report adds that the terms of Mbappe's exit from PSG is yet to be completely agreed upon, but the club will be expected to officially communicate his departure once all parties have shaken hands on the severance.
Mbappe's imminent departure from the Parc des Princes will save the French champions a staggering £171.1m in yearly wages, which the club will most likely use in their efforts to replace him with young talent.
After deploying the famed front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe for two seasons, PSG are now moving away from signing established big-name superstars, having seen the former two depart for Inter Miami and Al-Hilal respectively last year.
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Real Madrid are still the main contenders to land Mbappe this summer, but it has been reported that the forward's camp have been left dissatisfied with Los Blancos' recent contract offer, leading to a delay in the 25-year-old's decision.
However, there is still confidence that Mbappe will don the famous white strip for the 2024-25 season and beyond, as neither Liverpool nor Arsenal - whom he is supposedly open to joining - will be expected to break their wage structure in order to bring him to the Premier League.
Mbappe will be bidding his farewells to PSG seven years after initially joining on loan from Monaco in 2017, one year before his move was made permanent for £163m, still the second-most expensive transfer in the world behind Neymar.
The France World Cup winner has scored a club-record 243 goals in 290 games for PSG in that time, as well as chalking up 105 assists, and he has won five Ligue 1 titles at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe is yet to clinch a coveted Champions League crown with PSG, but he was on target on Wednesday night as Luis Enrique's side beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Ben Knapton
