Kylian Mbappe makes final transfer decision as Arsenal and Chelsea get crucial January update

Kylian Mbappe has decided to join Real Madrid upon the expiry of his PSG contract, it is claimed.

Arsenal and Chelsea have been long-term admirers of the 2018 World Cup winner with Liverpool also linked. But Spanish giants Real have emerged as favourites to sign the forward after his future became uncertain over the last two years.

And according to BILD via Fichajes, Los Blancos have won the race to sign the France talisman as a free agent in the summer. The report suggests that the 25-year-old will earn a salary in the region of €70million (£60m).

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Mbappe has previously alluded to leaving the French giants. «Many great players who have shaped the history of football have left Europe this summer and we are entering a new era,» he told GQ Magazine this month.

«It’s become part of the cycle of this sport and at some point it will be my turn to leave. I’m not worried about these changes. I’m simply thinking about continuing my career and following my own path.»

Despite teasing his availability in the summer, Madrid know better than anybody else that a deal is never complete until the player has signed a contract. Mbappe was heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2022 before snubbing them at the eleventh hour to sign a two-year extension at PSG.

Speaking on the Rothen s'enflamme RMC podcast earlier this month, Nasser Al-Khelaifi heaped praise on Mbappe, describing him as the 'best player in the world'. He said: «Look, I am not trying to hide anything. I want Kylian Mbappe to stay at PSG. He's the best player in the world and the best