- Real Madrid have announced the signing of Kylian Mbappe from PSG
- Mbappe will join on a free transfer after refusing to renew with the French side
- Click here to follow Mail Sport’s Euro 2024 WhatsApp Channel for all the latest breaking news and updates from Germany
Kylian Mbappe has spoken publicly for the first time since his move to Real Madrid was officially announced, admitting he is ‘relieved’ to be free from the shackles of PSG.
Mbappe is joining Madrid as a free agent on a five-year contract, the LaLiga club confirmed on Monday, ending a transfer saga that rumbled on for years before the European champions captured their newest ‘Galactico’.
The confirmation makes official one of the worst-kept secrets in football with Mbappe having been strongly linked with a switch to the Bernabeu Stadium for several months.
Mbappe is currently with the France squad preparing for Euro 2024 and will formally link up with Real after his involvement in the tournament ends.
The forward addressed the news as he spoke to the media at press conference in Metz on Tuesday.
‘It’s a huge pleasure, a dream come true,’ Mbappe said of a ‘very emotional moment’.
‘I’m very happy, liberated, and relieved and very proud to go to this big club – the best in the world,’ he added.
Asked about a period when he was sent to train with the reserves after refusing to renew his contract, Mbappe said: ‘They made me understand that I wouldn’t play for PSG, [and] at the club they told me violently to my face.
‘Without [head coach] Luis Enrique and [Football Advisor] Luis Campos I wouldn’t have set foot on the pitch. They saved me. That’s the truth.’
‘There’s a lot of pressure, but it’s just football and there are more serious things in life. I’ve always had this education of not coming to cry,’ Mbappe said.
‘I get paid handsomely to play football and do what I am passionate about, while some get up to go to a factory and do backbreaking work.
‘I keep saying that what I went through I wouldn’t wish on anyone, so I find it inappropriate to come and complain when I see what’s going on. There are much worse things in the world.’
‘It’s a big relief, I’m very happy, I think you can see it in my face. I played a lot less at the end of the season and everyone knows why. It’s like that – you have to adapt when you’re a high-level player.’