Why Kylian Mbappe ‘is meeting French president Emmanuel Macron for dinner alongside PSG boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi’

According to dailymail.co, Kylian Mbappe will be a surprise guest of French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday evening, only weeks after announcing his departure from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the summer. The France captain has been the main player for the Ligue 1 serial champions since joining to Parc des Princes in 2018, although he has long been linked with a big move to Real Madrid.

The 25-year-old has finalized terms with the LaLiga club following years of talks about a move to the Bernabeu, although neither PSG nor Real Madrid have issued an official statement declaring the player’s choice. Mail Sport claimed last week that the World Cup champion will take a big wage reduction when he joins Carlo Ancelotti’s side, as he now earns an eye-popping £21.4 million (€25 million) net every season in the French capital.

Although President Macron may have earlier sought to influence Mbappe’s choice to leave his home country, according to Le Parisien, the player will be invited to a banquet honoring Qatar’s visiting Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on Tuesday night. Mbappe will be joined at the meal by PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who leads the club’s Qatar Sports Investments ownership group.

Sheikh Tamim is said to have been called to the city by France’s premier in order to promote discussions between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire and the release of captives. At the conclusion of last season, Mbappe denied that Macron had tried to persuade him to stay at the French club, after the forward submitted a letter to PSG in June stating his intention not to extend his contract, which expires this year.

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‘What influence does the President wield? Mbappe informed reporters ahead of France’s round of European Championship qualifications later that month that he has no plans for his career in 2023. ‘He wants me to stay in Paris; my goal is to stay (for the upcoming season). We’re on the same wavelength.

Macron, whose tenure ends in 2027 owing to France’s two-term constitutional restriction, previously stated that in 2022 he spoke with Mbappe about his future in his country’s top flight.

‘Yes, it is true that I spoke with Kylian Mbappe before he made a final choice on his future,’ Macron stated in June of that year. ‘In it, I just recommended him, in an informal manner, to remain in France. I feel it is my job as president to defend the country when asked in an informal and friendly setting.

Later that year, Macron sought to console the PSG star after France lost the World Cup final to Argentina in Qatar, disclosing what he had said to the player as he accepted his runner-up trophy.

‘I reminded him he’s just 23, he was the World Cup top scorer, he won a World Cup, and he made it to the final,’ Macron added. ‘I was just as sad as him.’I told him he had made us extremely proud, and in the end, we had lost a football match, despite coming so close. That’s how it works in sports. However, a depressed Mbappe appeared to ignore his president’s embarrassing attempts, blanking Macron during the post-match ceremony.