The lunch between Perez and Al Khelaifi did not feature conversation about Mbappe — report

Before getting into this report which came in from MARCA, it’s important to contextualize things: What happened during the lunch meeting between the PSG and Real Madrid presidents today should not be dwelt on much. It doesn’t really change what’s going to happen with Kylian Mbappe this summer, and, these lunches are very routine when it comes to Champions League knockout ties — and undoubtedly Florentino Perez will host Nasser Al Khelaifi before the return leg as well (and whoever advances will host the president of the next club, etc).

MARCA reported that the lunch was ‘cordial but not close’. To elaborate, Florentino Perez was 20 minutes late for the meeting due to a police checkpoint in Paris. The two presidents did not sit next to each other, and the lunch was also attended by PSG sporting director Leonardo and Real Madrid spokesperson Emilio Butragueño. The lunch lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes, and Mbappe was not discussed at all — a stark 180 turn from MARCA’s initial report that Mbappe would basically be the main talking point.

Now, the report claims “it’s a delicate situation” because both clubs are looking to sign Mbappe, and discussing it would’ve created tension.