LONDON, England – Tuesday at 2:03 p.m. (UK time), Kylian Mbappe tweeted in reference to a story that he wants to sign with Real Madrid this summer.

The content of the contentious post was “LIES.”

The mysterious post also made the point that a lie is accepted as fact more readily the bigger it is. The person expressed their desire to stay at PSG for the forthcoming campaign and reiterated their satisfaction with the team.

It was the most recent development in a transfer story that has dominated most recent transfer windows. Following Mbappe’s letter to his club on Monday night informing them he would not be triggering a clause to extend his contract until 2025, meaning he has just one more year left on his current deal, there were briefings and counter-briefings from the 24-year-old France forward’s camp and Paris Saint-Germain.

Then, just weeks after signing this contract, Mbappe’s camp sent a statement to French news agency AFP saying that he had informed them of his decision the year prior. PSG denied this and said Mbappe’s allegations that there had been no contract renewal discussions since last summer were “emphatically untrue,” adding that there was “no way” Mbappe would leave on a free transfer next summer. PSG was displeased with Mbappe’s conduct as their star player.

When his contract expires after the upcoming season, PSG won’t let one of the finest players in the world leave for free, igniting speculation about a sale this summer.

The player intended to officially announce his decision now so that the worst effects would occur during the national team break and the player’s holidays, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity to protect personal relationships on Tuesday. This was done in order to prevent the crisis involving Mbappe’s future from blowing up in July, during the preseason, or in August, when the following season had already started.

Real Madrid believed they were in a good position to get Mbappe before he signed a new contract with PSG in May of last year. They made unsuccessful attempts to sign him the summer prior, starting with an opening bid of €160 million (£137.5 million; $172.7 million).

Anyone who has closely followed Mbappe’s relationship with Madrid will not be surprised to see him associated with the Spanish club once again, and they should not have any illusions that this is the last time they will be.

After his deal fell through in May 2022, Madrid were anxious to avoid this happening, thus the two sides never lost touch. They believed that if Mbappe became free, they needed to have a plan in place and the funds available to sign him.

Mbappe has now formally announced that he will not extend his contract, but nothing in this narrative is quite what it looks. PSG, for instance, can not completely rule out the possibility that this most recent development is Mbappe’s method of requesting more money to extend his contract. Madrid will also be making calculations as you move.

But Kylian Mbappe will be the one on whom everyone will be focusing.