'He must have changed his dream' - Florentino Perez on Kylian Mbappe snubbing Real Madrid to stay at PSG

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 16/06/2022 at 13:02 GMT

"His dream was to play at Real Madrid," Florentino Perez said of Kylian Mbappe after missing out on signing the striker, who instead extended his contract with PSG. "We wanted to do it last August and they didn't let him leave; he kept saying he wanted to play at Madrid, and like 15 days before. "This is not the Mbappe I wanted to bring, he is another one, who must have changed his dream."

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has spoken out after Kylian Mbappe appeared to change his "dream" of moving to Real Madrid in preference of staying at PSG.

Last month, Perez claimed the club had “already forgotten” about their failed pursuit of the French superstar after watching Los Blancos beat Liverpool in the Champions League final.

The 23-year-old was widely tipped to join up with the Spanish champions in the summer when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired. However, in a remarkable turnaround, the France international signed a contract extension at the Parc des Princes through to 2025.

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Real Madrid also had a £180 million January deadline day bid turned down for the 2018 World Cup winner last summer. Speaking after the showpiece European final to Movistar, Perez said the Spanish giants had already moved on from the transfer disappointment.

‘I thought he had a dream’ – Florentino Perez on Mbappe not signing for Real Madrid

"Mbappe is already forgotten," he said. "We have had a perfect season and we will continue to work to get the best players."

Now Perez has spoken further about the situation in an interview with 'El Chiringuito' in which he somewhat sarcastically referred to Mbappe previously describing a move to the Bernabeu as a dream.

"His dream was to play at Real Madrid," Perez said. "We wanted to do it last August and they didn't let him leave; he kept saying he wanted to play at Madrid, and like 15 days before, he changed the situation.

"This is not the Mbappe I wanted to bring, he is another one, who must have changed his dream. He changes, he is offered other things, he is pressured and he is already another footballer.

"There is no one at Real Madrid above the club. He is a great player, he can win more than others, but it is a collective sport and we have values and principles that we cannot change.

• Mbappe is 'already forgotten' - Real Madrid president Perez has dig at PSG star
• 'I had to call him' - Mbappe reveals he rejected Real president over phone

Mbappe confirms PSG stay, delivers video message on top of Parc des Princes

"The Mbappe who was going to come here is not this one. If it is, I prefer him to stay at PSG. I want the one with the dream. Impossible in three years? In three years' time, we will all be bald?

"This Mbappe is not my Mbappe, who refuses to do a publicity stunt with his national team... I don't want that. It could have been a slip of the tongue, but I think he was mistaken."

Fresh from the club sealing its 14th European crown, Perez insisted that Ballon d'Or favourite Karim Benzema was the reason he did not make a move for Erling Haaland, who signed with Manchester City.

"We have the best [number] nine in the world and we weren't going to bring in Haaland to have him on the bench, right?

"Clause in two years? I don't know. We have no interest now other than to build the new team with the youngsters we have and some reinforcement."

Finally, on the disastrous European Super League, Perez still had something to say about that too - and he is not done.

"Of course, it is still alive," he said. "Right now, there is a question in the Court of Luxembourg, there will be a hearing shortly and it will rule on the issues we have raised.

"We believe that we have the right, within the European Community, to organise competitions among ourselves, with UEFA. We understand that UEFA is a monopoly and in this Europe of 27, one pillar is that of competition."

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