Robert Pires has urged Kylian Mbappe to reject Real Madrid to instead join a Premier League club.
Mbappe’s time at PSG seems almost certain to finally come to an end at the end of the season, seven years after he joined the French giants as a teenager.
The forward appears destined to join Real Madrid in one of the biggest transfers of all time that won’t earn his current side a penny due to the France man being out of contract at the end of the season.
The move will see him link up with the likes of Vinicius Jnr and Jude Bellingham when he puts pen to paper on a deal to move to the Bernabeu following years of speculation.
But Pires, who is most well-known for his spell at Arsenal between 2000 and 2006, suggested it’s not too late for the 25-year-old to turn his back on the seemingly already-agreed transfer.
Kylian Mbappe (pictured) should reject Real Madrid, according to Arsenal legend Robert Pires
![Mbappe's move to the Spanish side in the summer appears to be all but confirmed on a free deal](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/03/08/83183673-0-image-a-2_1712129969729.jpg)
Mbappe’s move to the Spanish side in the summer appears to be all but confirmed on a free deal
![Pires (pictured), however, has instead urged the forward to join a shock Premier League side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/03/08/83183685-0-image-a-3_1712130016963.jpg)
Pires (pictured), however, has instead urged the forward to join a shock Premier League side
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Speaking via AS, Pires said: ‘I’m sorry, Kylian, but you weren’t the first player to say no to Real Madrid.
‘I don’t know what decision he will make in the end, but I turned Madrid down because I had two other options. I’m sure that if I didn’t have the opportunity of going to Arsenal or Juventus I would have gone to Real Madrid. That’s for sure’.
There had been murmurs that Mbappe could have signed for other top European sides, despite Madrid always being the front-runners to secure his signature.
One side that he was momentarily linked with was Liverpool, with outgoing Reds manager Jurgen Klopp ruling out a move for Mbappe earlier on this season.
If a deal is still possible, however, Pires urged his countryman to consider holding negotiations with the Premier League leaders.
‘I would like to see him at Liverpool,’ Pires, who won the 1998 World Cup with France, said. ‘It’s a great family club.
‘There’s a good structure, no pressure, the fans are level-headed, and I think a Salah-Mbappe partnership could be really explosive. I think he is capable of rejecting Real Madrid.’
![A move to Real Madrid would see Mbappe link up with the likes of Jude Bellingham (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/03/08/83183701-0-image-a-4_1712130022182.jpg)
A move to Real Madrid would see Mbappe link up with the likes of Jude Bellingham (pictured)
![Current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ruled out a move for the forward earlier this season](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/03/08/83183697-0-image-a-5_1712130024627.jpg)
Current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ruled out a move for the forward earlier this season
Mbappe is said to be demanding a signing-on fee well in excess of £100million, a fee Madrid can afford due to no transfer sum being involved.
The demands have ruled several European sides out of negotiations, with Klopp, speaking in February, not surprised that teams haven’t been queueing up to sign the Frenchman.
‘Obviously, I’m not involved in that, but I can tell you I’d be surprised if all the top clubs were,’ Klopp said in regards to a potential deal for Mbappe.
‘The top clubs I know, for most of them it will be tricky. Wages, signing-on fee.’