Kylian Mbappe met with France’s president Emmanuel Macron and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim ben Hamad Al Thani, at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday, with Macron reportedly joking with the forward about his future during the meeting.
The football superstar’s future as current club Paris Saint-Germain has been in the headlines for the best part of the last year, with Mbappe widely expected to leave the club for Spanish giants Real Madrid at the end of the season.
90min understands that Mbappe has informed PSG that he intends to leave the club this summer, telling club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi his decision a few weeks ago.
Since then a number of outlets have claimed that the forward has already agreed terms on a deal to join Madrid. Reports from BBC Sport and Marca both recently stated that Mbappe has signed a five-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu and is set to earn €15m per year and receive a whopping €150m signing-on bonus to be paid over five years too.
With his future up in the air, the forward was a surprise attendee at a dinner to honour the visit of the Emir of Qatar at Elysee Palace, being invited to the event by a football fan and the French president.
Macron was caught on camera joking with Mbappe at the dinner, with RMC Sport reporting that the president said: “You’re going to create problems for us”, to the forward.
After the initial interaction between the pair, Macron heaped praise on the France captain and relived memories of the most recent FIFA World Cup final in Qatar.
“There are also so many beautiful memories, in less serious but as vibrant moments as this 2022 World Cup. Kylian Mbappe’s extraordinary game, the memory of [Randal] Kolo Muani’s saved shot, which still remains bitter in French hearts,” he said.
“But that’s the thing with the king of sports. They have had a fantastic tournament, with what I think was the most spectacular final in history. France was there with its fans, its security forces, its companies like RATP and its footballers.”