Real Madrid aiming to sign Manchester City forward after missing out on PSG's Kylian Mbappe - Reports
Real Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City's Raheem Sterling after Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The Frenchman was the protagonist of a long transfer saga and he eventually chose to sign a new three-year contract with the Parisians.
This has perhaps thrown a spanner in Los Blancos' plans as they were confident that the PSG star would join them. Now, as per the Daily Star, Real Madrid want to sign Sterling this summer.
The England international has seen his playing time get a hit this season. He started 23 Premier League games compared to 28 last season. His contract with Manchester City expires in 2023 and a new deal isn't on the table yet.
Sterling joined the Cityzens in 2015 from Liverpool for a then record fee for an English player of around £50 million. Since then, he has made 339 appearances for the club, scoring 131 goals and making 95 assists. He has also won four Premier League titles with Manchester City.
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Sterling has also expressed his admiration for Real Madrid in the past. The 27-year-old shared his 'strong liking' for the club in an interview in 2020.
With Mbappe choosing to stay at PSG, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is looking for options to bolster their attack. They now want to sign the Englishman for £50 million.
The Manchester City star could also look to make a transfer to get more playing time with the FIFA World Cup in Qatar coming up later this year.
"I owed to it to them" - Kylian Mbappe shared that he spoke with Real Madrid president before announcing he'll stay at PSG
Mbappe's decision to stay at PSG was announced on Saturday, May 21 ahead of their 5-0 win over Metz.
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The Frenchman held a press conference on Monday to discuss his decision. During the press conference, he revealed that he spoke to Los Blancos president Florentino Perez before announcing his next move.
He said (via Daily Mail):
"I wanted to call the Real Madrid president Florentino Perez before announcing it at Paris Saint-Germain. I have a lot of respect for him and their club they have done a lot to make me as happy as possible. As a respectful person I owed to it to them to speak to them personally I though that was the best thing to do. We managed to finalise the contract and announce the news at the Parc des Princes."
As per the aforementioned report, Mbappe will earn £650,000 per week on his new contract that runs until 2025.