Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has finally broken his silence on what accounted for the breaking down of moves for Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe and ex-Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland this summer. The 75-year-old Los Blancos chief said that the Mbappe, that decided to extend with PSG, isn't the player he wants with Los Blancos while attributing his side's failure to sign Haaland to the presence of Karim Benzema in the side.
It has been a few weeks now since Mbappe decided to commit his future to Paris Saint-Germain. On the contrary, Haaland's decision to join Manchester City has also been known for almost the same duration. However, a few months ago, the indication was that both players could become teammates as Real Madrid were keen on their recruitment.
Mbappe in particular was the primary transfer target for Los Blancos. Having allowed his contract with Paris Saint-Germain to run down, it was quite clear that the 23-year-old striker will fulfil his dream of playing for the Spanish giants next season. But to the dismay of fans of the club, the Frenchman made a U-turn and committed his future to Les Parisiens.
On Wednesday night, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez made an appearance on Spanish programme El Chiringuito and promised at the beginning of the show, promised to answer every question thrown at him. He delivered a blunt account of what ensued, beginning with Kylian Mbappe's decision to stay in Paris.
"He didn't betray me," Florentino said.
"He revealed his dream to play at Real Madrid. And it's true. Last August PSG didn't want to sell. We waited a year and he kept saying the same thing. Fifteen days before the situation changed because of the political pressure and the economic factor."
"He did what he thought was easiest. He changed. There's no need to go over it again. As a result of the pressure he had to change his dreams… he's very young, the pressure affects us all but the young people more. It didn't make sense that the President of the Republic [Emmanuel Macron] was calling him… the mayor of Paris, that you don't leave.... That in France.
"And then in Qatar they offer you some things that drive you a little crazy, they offer you a disproportionate influence in the sporting aspect for a player..."
"The Mbappe I wanted was the one that dreamed of Real Madrid," he added.
"Signing him in three years? I don't know… in the space of 3 years, we could all be bald [anything can happen]."
This Mbappe, is not Mbappe. A player that refuses to do an act of sponsorship with his national team, I don't want. I thought that he had a dream, but sometimes they [dreams] can't be realised because of external causes."
On the subject of Erling Haaland, he stated that the move for Mbappe did not affect their plans to bring the Norweigian. However, it was Karim Benzema's red-hot form that influenced the club's decision to stay away.
"Mbappé deal didn't create any problem with Haaland deal, absolutely," Perez revealed.
"We have Benzema, so it was impossible to have him with Karim. We can't sign Haaland to stay on the bench".
"I don't know if Erling Haaland has a release clause into his contract with Man City. I've seen some stories about it but I don't have anything confirmed".
"He's great player but we have Benzema. It wasn't linked to Mbappé".
