Kylian Mbappe has insisted that he has no intention of leaving Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
It emerged this week that Mbappe has sent a letter to the French club stating that he has no intention extending his contract, which expires in 2024.
He later clarified that he had not asked the French club to allow him to move to Spanish giants Real Madrid as had been reported.
Mbappe was close to joining the then European champions last summer but instead signed a lucrative new deal to remain in the French capital.
PSG now face the dilemma of allowing Mbappe to run down the final year of his contract and being unable to recoup any of the €180 million they spent in 2017 to sign the striker ward AS Monaco.
Mbappe, currently away on international duty with France, was asked about his club future during a press conference on Thursday evening.
“Am I going to leave PSG? I've already answered, I've said that my objective is to stay at PSG, that's my only option at the moment. I'm ready to come back when pre-season resumes,” said the 24-year-old, who has finished as Ligue 1's top scorer for the last five seasons.
“I don't think that a letter kills someone, I don't care about that. I didn't think it would offend anyone: I just sent a letter.
“It has not been sent now, there are things that surprise me and I insist, I expect questions about the match.
“People can talk, criticise … I know why I do what I do and why I say what I say. People don't know all the ins and outs”.
The France captain also insisted the speculation will not his affect his form ahead of France's European Championship qualifier against Gibraltar on Friday.
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LIGUE 1 TOP SCORERS 2022/23 SEASON: 14) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) 13 goals in 20 matches; 11 assists; minutes per goal 119. EPA -
13) Alexis Sanchez (Marseille) 14 goals in 35 matches; three assists; minutes per goal 193. EPA -
=11) Gaetan Laborde (Rens, Nice) 15 goals in 37 matches; three assists; minutes per goal 184. AFP -
=11) Amine Gouiri (Rens, Nice) 15 goals in 36 matches; three assists; minutes per goal 184. AFP -
10) Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) 16 goals in 32 matches; 16 assists; minutes per goal 178. AFP -
9) Terem Moffi (Nice, Llorient) 18 goals in 34 matches; three assists; minutes per goal 152. AFP -
= 7) Elye Wahi (Montpellier) 19 goals in 33 matches; five assists; minutes per goal 133. AFP -
=7) Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco) 19 goals in 32 matches; six assists; minutes per goal 112. AFP -
6) Habib Diallo (Strasbourg) 20 goals in 37 matches; one assists; minutes per goal 144. AFP -
=4) Folarin Balogun (Reims) 21 goals in 37 matches; two assists; minutes per goal 144. AFP -
=4) Ikoma Lois Openda (Lens) 21 goals in 38 matches; four assists; minutes per goal 143. AFP -
3) Jonathan David (Lille) 24 goals in 37 matches; four assists; minutes per goal 132. AFP -
2) Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) 27 goals in 35 matches; five assists; minutes per goal 109. AFP -
1) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint Germain) 29 goals in 34 matches; five assists; minutes per goal 97. AP
“I've been used to it since I was very young. I'm thinking about tomorrow's game. That's my only concern,” he said.
“What happens outside is secondary, I've always managed to do both. I want to show tomorrow that I'm a great player.”
France manager Didier Deschamps gave his backing to Mbappe, who he appointed as his new captain in March.
“We discuss a lot of things with Kylian, he's captain of the team, he's committed to the group,” Deschamps said.
“He's no more tense than usual. He's always in the spotlight, a bit more so recently, but that doesn't have any impact on him and not at all on the group.”
Mbappe, meanwhile, also said that French President Emmanuel Macron has no influence on his career choices.
When Mbappe was linked with a move away from PSG in 2021, Macron had urged him to remain at PSG and to continue playing in the French top flight.
And French media reported earlier this week that Macron would push for Mbappe to stay once again.
“What influence does the President have? On my career today, in 2023, none. He wants me to stay in Paris, my objective is to stay,” said Mbappe. “We're on the same wavelength.”
