Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has pre-emptively let the first-team squad know that Kylian Mbappe will be joining the club this summer, according to a report.
The 25-year-old is finally expected to bid his farewells to Paris Saint-Germain after multiple outlets claimed on Thursday that he has decided to leave the club at the end of the season.
Mbappe's contract with the Ligue 1 champions - which he renewed in 2022 - expires at the end of June, and he refused to trigger a 12-month extension last summer, sparking sustained PSG efforts to try to sell him.
Les Parisiens were unsuccessful in those endeavours - despite briefly banishing him from the first-team squad - and the world's second-most expensive player now stands to walk away for free in a few months' time.
PSG will still be saving a gargantuan €200m (£171m) in yearly wages, though, and Mbappe has supposedly also agreed to forgo his loyalty bonus as part of a gentleman's agreement with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
© Reuters
The 25-year-old is not believed to have given Real Madrid his word just yet, as he has not negotiated the terms of his exit with PSG, but the consensus is that he will sport the famous white strip for 2024-25 and beyond.
According to Foot Mercato, Real president Perez has already informed "certain" players that Mbappe is on his way to the Bernabeu for the upcoming campaign after a cryptic tweet from Aurelien Tchouameni.
During the fallout from Thursday's new, Mbappe's compatriot posted two popcorn emojis on X - formerly known as Twitter - adding even more fuel to the fire surrounding the striker's anticipated arrival in Madrid.
Real president Perez has been pursuing Mbappe for a number of years and sanctioned two nine-figure bids for the Frenchman in 2021, only to see the first offer rejected before PSG ignored their second proposal.
In the months that followed, Mbappe was widely expected to join Real on a free transfer, but he surprisingly agreed to a new two-year deal in the French capital with an option until 2025 on his side.
© Reuters
Despite losing Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad last summer, Real did not go after Mbappe due to their significant outlay on Jude Bellingham, and there are still some hurdles to clear before the former is baptised as a Blancos player.
Real Madrid are supposedly offering Mbappe less money than he would have earned had he joined in 2022, which has left his entourage unhappy, but there is still confidence on Los Blancos' side that he will finally arrive in La Liga this summer.
Arsenal and Liverpool have been tipped as Mbappe's two most likely destinations should talks with Real fall through, but his mammoth salary means that a move to Premier League is highly unlikely.
The 25-year-old was dropped from the starting lineup for Saturday's Ligue 1 clash with Nantes in the wake of the news, but he came off the bench to score a second-half penalty in a 2-0 win for the French champions.
Mbappe's strike was his 21st from 20 Ligue 1 games in the current season, and his overall record for the club stands at 244 strikes from just 291 matches across all competitions.
Ben Knapton
