Will Real Madrid sign Mbappe as a free agent in 2022?

Real Madrid’s interested in signing Kylian Mbappe away from Paris Saint-Germain this summer was real. Los Blancos ended up offering €200 million for his transfer, but PSG always refused to officially reply to Madrid’s offers. With the French striker set to become a free agent in 2022, Real Madrid still thought that such an expensive deal now was worth it and at the same time PSG decided to keep him hoping that Mbappe will end up signing a contract extension, even if it’s a short one.

What are truly the odds of Real Madrid landing Kylian Mbappe as a free agent in the summer of 2022?

First, it’s important to note that this transfer saga has almost been unprecedented. Mbappe had told PSG’s board that he is not going to extend his contract, something which should have forced PSG’s hand because no club in the world of football wants to lose one of their franchise players for free, right? Wrong.

Paris Saint-Germain simply don’t care about money and those who should —UEFA and the French Ligue 1— give them the financial freedom to operate at will while other clubs try to stay within the boundaries of Financial Fair Play and other regulations. Real Madrid thought that PSG would care, but they didn’t.

Now it’s time to look ahead. A club source told Managing Madrid this morning that PSG “will drive Mbappe crazy” with the negotiations to extend his contract. They will quite simply offer twice as much as Real Madrid can offer, simply because they can and because the different competitions allow them to. Make no mistake, PSG like their chances to extend Mbappe’s contract and that’s also why they kept him.

So far, Mbappe has refused to sign an extension with the French side and that’s why ultimately sources within Real Madrid are confident about him joining Real Madrid in 2022. “He’s shown great personality,” they said, hoping that he will keep refusing those extensions.

Release clauses are forbidden in France and that’s an important factor to consider. In other cases, Mbappe could end up signing an extension but adding a €200 million release clause to give Real Madrid the chance to sign him. That just can’t happen. Mbappe now knows that he will be a PSG player until the very end of his contract and if he extends it, he will also extend his career at the French club, no other way around it. Promises are not enough when your career is on the line, so Mbappe has to think carefully about what he does next.

The French striker will be under tons of pressure this year. His home fans will likely treat him like a hero now, but their frustration will grow if he keeps rejecting PSG’s offers.

Theoretically, Mbappe will be allowed to sign a contract with Real Madrid on January 1st, 2022. It’s very unlikely that he does that in the middle of the season as PSG could very well decide to keep him on the bench until the end of the season, even if that works against their own sporting interests.

In the end, PSG sent a message this summer. They do not sell. PSG do not lose. They will want to send more messages in the upcoming months and it won’t be easy for Mbappe or Real Madrid to deal with them.

Will Mbappe keep refusing PSG’s offers no matter what? Will he remain silent? If PSG succeed in the Champions League as they should, will he stay or will he leave to lead Real Madrid’s own project? Even if the striker thinks that there’s no way he is going to sign that extension, it won’t be that easy for him.

Real Madrid lost a battle in this transfer window, but another one has just started.