KYL-ER BLOW
Kylian Mbappe on why he turned down Arsenal transfer in 2016 as PSG striker hits amazing hat-trick vs Barcelona
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN striker Kylian Mbappe has lifted the lid on why he turned down a move to Arsenal when he was at Monaco.
Arsene Wenger paid a home visit to the 22-year-old in 2016 in the hope of luring him to North London, however he signed a new deal at Monaco before joining PSG a year later.
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In an interview with BeIN Sports from 2017, Wenger said he almost secured Mbappe's signature.
He said: "The player would tell you that I was at his home last year to try to get him here.
“Because he was at the end of his contract but Monaco managed to keep him and the decision was very, very tight.
“But I could understand it as well because he was educated there and at the end decided to stay there.”
Mbappe - who has won three Ligue 1 titles since joining Les Parisiens - has confirmed that he almost joined the Gunners.
Explaining his decision in 2018 to sign for PSG, he revealed: "I met with Arsene Wenger, who is a great coach. He has a great reputation here in France, he's well-respected and knows how to develop young players. This was a real option for me.
"I dream of being managed by Arsene Wenger. He is French, he's had a great career and now he is free because he has left Arsenal.
"We weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of all the clubs but my family told me it had to be my decision and one I needed to make.
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"It also had to be a long-term decision. So it was up to me and I decided to come here in order to develop."
Mbappe - who has established himself as one of the world's top forwards - scored a hat-trick against Barcelona on Tuesday night in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
And Wenger has urged the French giants to tie him and Neymar down to a new contract with their deals to expire in 2022.
He said: "Mbappe is free in 2022. If he does not extend in 2021 PSG has to sell Mbappe or he will be completely free in 2022.
"And they have to extend Neymar and Mbappe together. And it looks like that will be financially very very expensive. And the question PSG has to answer, can they convince the two?
"And do they have the money to do it? Because they need to sign the two together.
"Messi demands a huge investment and I would say PSG today is more focussed on keeping their two best players and investing all the money they have into their two best players.
"Mbappe is 22 maybe the future best player in the world so when you have the next two best players in the world, keep them."
PSG should keep Mbappe & Neymar as Messi 'demands huge investment', says Wenger
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