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Rabat – French footballing superstar Kylian Mbappe has responded to rumors that he chose to stay with Paris Saint-Germain for money.
With critics having slammed the French footballer for standing up Real Madrid despite making a reassurance trip to the Spanish capital, Mbappe sought in his response to clarify the reasons for his Madrid trip.
Earlier this month, Madrid photos of Mbappe with Morocco’s international football player and PSG teammate Achraf Hakimi went viral online, adding up to the rumors of a potential trade between Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain.
Mbappe denied the rumors in an interview with Marca, emphasizing that he was in Madrid because his teammate Hakimi invited him to travel to the Spanish capital with him.
He said the visit was a secret trip with his friends, adding: “I would probably do it again. I didn’t go to Madrid so that people would talk. I went with Achraf on a private flight, we changed our names and everything so no one would see me, and then we went to a restaurant and someone saw us and spoke.”
Read also: Kylian Mbappe: Hakimi is Best Right Back in the World
Mbappe went on to explain, “Achraf paid for the trip so that even my name wasn’t there and people didn’t see me at the airport. I went to the hotel. I relaxed, then I went to a restaurant and everybody saw me. But it was because of Achraf.”
The French footballer has faced a backlash in the past few days following his decision to stay with PSG, with many critics suggesting that he stayed for the money.
In response, the PSG star emphasized that he is sad that people have made the assumption he stayed with the Qatari-owned Parisian club for money.
“I’m a bit sad because since I started playing football I showed everyone that I had the desire to play,” he said, adding that he always talked about football-related matters, including matches and titles but never money.
“People can talk about whatever they want, but everyone knows me,” Mbappe said, stressing that he never spoke to sports officials neither at PSG or Real Madrid clubs about money.
“I have spoken to everyone at Real Madrid, I have spoken to PSG and they know that I have never spoken about money with the president, with Florentino Perez, nor with Nasser Al Khelaifi. My lawyer talked a little bit about money, as did my mother, but not me,” he said.
He added that his money goes to his bank account, but he “does not care.”
Mbappe concluded, “I’m here to win titles, to show that I’m the best, and to be happy.”
