Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has insisted that Los Blancos respect Kylian Mbappe’s decision to stay with Paris Saint-Germain, even though ‘all’ the players thought he would join.
Mbappe ran down his PSG contract and was widely tipped to make the switch to Real as a free agent. But when the time came, he decided to extend in Paris until 2025 instead.
Real president Florentino Perez claimed it was Mbappe’s ‘dream’ to join Los Blancos but changed his mind just over two weeks before renewing with PSG.
“His dream was to play at Real Madrid, 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,” Perez said on Spanish television shortly afterwards.
Now, speaking to Sportske Novosti in Croatia, Modric said, “Mbappe decided as he decided, that is his right and now he lives with that decision. It goes on.
“We all thought he would come to us, it didn’t happen and – now what? Well, we’re not going to crucify the man. Mbappe is a great player, but as I always repeat, in any context, no player is more important than the club. Real is the greatest, above every player and it will always be like that.”
The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner also didn’t ruled out the possibility that it could still happen: “Who knows what can happen tomorrow, let alone in three or four years in football? Only time will tell.”