Is the Kylian Mbappe-Real Madrid dream over for good?

The striker may have committed himself to PSG for the next three years, but he refuses to rule out a move to Spain one day.

Kylian Mbappe has not ruled out a move to Real Madrid later in his career.

The 23-year-old turned down a summer transfer to the Spanish champions at the weekend in favor of signing a new three-year contract at his current club, Paris Saint-Germain.

It marked yet another blow in Real Madrid’s Mbappe dream. This was supposed to be their year. After several attempts down the years, they hoped to get their man this time around. The player was happy with the terms offered by the club, but ultimately committed himself to PSG. He messaged the Spanish team’s president, Florentino Perez, of his decision on Saturday, hours before the big announcement.

#KylianCestParis 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/J0ioxkUxaH

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 23, 2022

‘You never know’

In an interview with BBC Sport on Monday, however, Mbappe made it clear the dream of playing for Real Madrid – a club he supported in his youth – is ‘never over’.

“You never know what can happen in the future,” the Frenchman said.

“I give up to think about the future. I only think about the present and the present is I signed a new contract for three years more at Paris St-Germain.”

Asked if his new PSG contract meant the Real Madrid dream was over, Mbappe said: “Never over.”

“It was last week I made the decision to stay,” he added.

“First of all, I spoke to the president of Real Madrid [Florentino Perez] because I have a lot of respect for him and the club. I think it was important to say it personally that I wasn’t going to go.

“To be a great player [you have] to be honest, and everything was great and good because we have a good relationship.”

🗣️🎙️ @KMbappe: "I don't think my story is over yet." ✍️#𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐂𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/UM8XAHBkB3

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 23, 2022

Why did Mbappe commit to PSG?

The forward also stated that PSG’s sporting project, not the financial perks, and the desire to stay in his homeland convinced him to turn down Real Madrid.

“Everybody knows I wanted to leave last year. But things are different now, in sporting terms and personally,” Mbappe said in a press conference on the same day, alongside PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

“Leaving my country wasn’t the right thing. There’s a sentimental aspect to this, and the sporting project has changed as well. … We spoke for months about the sporting project, and we spoke about money for just a few minutes.”