Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi has expressed his desire to keep hold of star forward Kylian Mbappe amid reported interest from Real Madrid and Liverpool.
The 25-year-old has been continuously linked with a exit from the Parc des Princes for the past few seasons and he still faces an uncertain future at the club, with his current contract due to expire in June.
Having now entered the final six months of his deal with the Ligue 1 champions, Mbappe is free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs about a possible free transfer this summer.
Real Madrid are believed to still be at the front of the queue for Mbappe's signature having previously pushed to sign the Frenchman in multiple transfer windows over the last couple of years.
The La Liga giants allegedly failed with a €200m (£172.1m) offer in the summer of 2021 and were then seemingly on course to recruit Mbappe on a free transfer in 2022, but the forward unexpectedly opted to sign a contract extension with PSG that year.
Mbappe, who was the subject of a world-record €300m (£258.1m) bid from Al-Hilal last summer, is understood to have since informed PSG that he does not intend to trigger the 12-month option to extend his contract beyond this summer.
© Reuters
Speculation over the future of Mbappe - who is yet to make a decision about his next career move - remains rife, with recent reports claiming that Real Madrid had reached an agreement to sign PSG's No.7, but those allegations have since been denied by the forward's entourage.
Los Blancos could now face competition from Liverpool in the race to sign Mbappe, who would allegedly be open to making a big-money move to Anfield.
Despite strong interest in Mbappe's services, PSG president Al Khelaifi believes that the Frenchman is best suited to his current club and has urged him to stay put.
Speaking on a podcast for Parisian news outlet RMC Sport, as quoted by The Athletic, Al Khelaifi said: "I'm not going to hide that I want Kylian to stay.
"The best player in the world is Kylian and the best club for him is Paris. He is central to our project."
"He has the best training centre in the world, the best coach in the world (Luis Enrique)," Al Khelaifi added. Every year he's sure of playing in the Champions League, we're in the last 16 at least, quarter-finals, even semi-finals or final, we're there with the big clubs."
Mbappe is PSG's all-time record scorer with 237 goals in 284 appearances, including 25 strikes in 24 games so far this season, and he has won five Ligue 1 titles during his six-and-a-half years at the club, but he is yet to get his hands on an elusive Champions League trophy.
Oliver Thomas
