"Kylian Mbappe should stay in France until end of season" - Brazilian legend Rivaldo urges Frenchman to avoid Real Madrid move in January

Kylian Mbappe has been strongly linked with Real Madrid

Brazilian legend Rivaldo has urged Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Kylian Mbappe not to join Real Madrid in January. The Frenchman has been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for a couple seasons now, with rumors growing stronger of late.

The 23-year-old has just six months left on his contract with the Parisians and is thereby free to negotiate terms with potential suitors. However, Rivaldo feels he must stay for now and try to win the Champions League with PSG before thinking of a move.

In an exclusive interview with Betfair, the former Barcelona star said:

"I think he should avoid making decisions now and prefer to focus in helping his club achieve Champions League success. If he manages to win CL, even leaving the club at the end of season, he would always be recognised for his efforts by the fans for winning a very important title for them, and only after that should he announce his new club that seems to be Real Madrid."

Los Blancos made contact with PSG regarding a potential move for Mbappe in the last summer transfer window. Some reports have even claimed Madrid tabled a bid in the January transfer window. However, the Ligue 1 giants rejected the bid in the hope of tying the star down to a new contract.

🚨| Real Madrid are calm, confident and believe Mbappé will be their player in 6 months. PSG still hope to renew his contract. @lequipe via @hadrien_grenier #rmalive https://t.co/CruIDRClNc

Rivaldo believes Mbappe is destined to end up at Real Madrid some day, but feels he must help PSG to the Champions League title first.

"The Spanish club seems to be trying to sign him right away offering 50M euros to PSG, but I believe he should stay in France until the end of season and only then decide his future.

"Any player hopes to play for a big club like Real Madrid during their career, but Mbappe is a special case since the club is also very interested in signing him, so, no matter when, but it looks written in the stars that he will be a Real Madrid player soon.

"He is a player of great personality that is producing a fantastic season so far despite all the distractions around him, so, I believe he will keep that way until the end of the season even with his contract about to expire," he said.

Mbappe could join Real Madrid after this season

Mbappe recently played down Real Madrid talks by committing himself to PSG but that doesn't mean he will stay on for long. A switch to the La Liga giants seems imminent and even though it may not happen in the ongoing window, it could happen in the summer.

Six months ago, when Real Madrid declared their interest in Kylian Mbappé, PSG started drawing up a shortlist of possible replacements in case he left that summer. Marcus Rashford was at the top of the list #mulive [@hirstclass]

Real Madrid have grown desperate to sign the player and you can expect them to come out all guns blazing for him after the end of the season.