Kylian Mbappe has confirmed for the first time that he asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain over the summer.
Real Madrid failed with a €200million (£171.7m) deadline-day bid to sign Mbappe after PSG declined to respond to their offer.
Mbappe has less than a year left on his contract at PSG and made it clear in a meeting with the club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he would not be signing a new deal.
Mbappe has always made it clear that his dream is to play for Real Madrid and the 22-year-old World Cup winner has now confirmed he asked to leave PSG.
In an interview with RMC Sport, Mbappe said: “I asked to leave, because from the moment where I did not want to extend, I wanted the club to receive a transfer fee so that they could bring in a quality replacement.
“This club has given me a lot, I have always been happy, the four years I have had here, and I still am.
“I said it early enough so that the club could react. I wanted everyone to come out of this stronger, that we leave hand in hand, to me a good deal and I respected that.
“I said, if you don’t want me to go I will stay.”
PSG could now lose Mbappe for free next year.
