Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has refused to add fuel to the fire surrounding the future of Kylian Mbappe amid claims that he has decided to leave the club at the end of the season.
Following years of speculation and uncertainty regarding his next career move, multiple sources reported on Thursday evening that Mbappe has informed PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi of his imminent exit from the club.
The French World Cup winner will officially become a free agent at the end of June, and PSG are now working to agree the terms of Mbappe's exit after he refused to trigger his 12-month extension.
Furthermore, Mbappe is said to have told his teammates during Friday's training session that he will be on his way out this summer, and he has been free to talk to foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement since January.
The 25-year-old is yet to decide on his next destination, although Real Madrid remain firm favourites to complete a deal and are growing in confidence that they will finally capture him for the 2024-25 campaign.
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Enrique was inevitably questioned on Mbappe's expected departure on Friday, but the former Barcelona boss stressed that he had no intel on the case and would remain tight-lipped until either Mbappe or the club released an official statement.
"I have no information to give you. I am going to avoid talking about this subject until the parties involved speak about it," Enrique said at a press conference ahead of Saturday's Ligue 1 encounter with Nantes.
"Kylian Mbappe hasn't said anything publicly, nor has anyone else at the club. So I'm the coach. When the parties speak, I'll give you my opinion, but we're continuing to work so that we can continue to be a better team every year."
During Enrique's first few weeks at the club, Mbappe was briefly banished from first-team activities due to his refusal to extend his contract until 2025, which saw him miss PSG's pre-season tour and train with other players deemed surplus to requirements.
The former Monaco starlet was eventually re-integrated thanks to a gentleman's agreement with Al-Khelaifi, in which he agreed to forgo his hefty loyalty bonuses if he were to leave PSG at the end of his contract this summer.
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Mbappe signed his current terms in the summer of 2022, prior to which he was heavily expected to arrive at the Bernabeu on a free transfer after Real failed with two bids north of £100m in the summer of 2021.
Los Blancos president Florentino Perez has never given up hope of adding Mbappe to the ranks, although he will have to take a significant hit on his yearly €200m (£171m) wages to join the La Liga leaders.
A move to the Premier League is not believed to be entirely out of the question for Mbappe, who is alleged to be open to a transfer to Arsenal in order to follow in the footsteps of the Gunners' all-time leading goalscorer Thierry Henry.
Head coach Mikel Arteta affirmed that the Gunners must always be in the "conversation" to sign players of Mbappe's ilk, but the Spaniard conceded that the 25-year-old likely has his heart set on a move elsewhere.
Manchester United chief Sir Dave Brailsford has also played down his side's chances of signing Mbappe, who boasts a club-record 243 goals in 290 games for PSG across all competitions.
Ben Knapton
