Six Potential Destinations for Kylian Mbappe After Real Madrid Bust-Up—Ranked

The French superstar’s position at the Bernabéu has come under scrutiny.

The future could be pointing towards a new club for Kylian Mbappé. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé added fuel to the dumpster fire that is the final weeks of Real Madrid’s season, sensationally claiming he is now “fourth-choice” striker at the club.

In a candid chat with reporters in the mixed zone following Madrid’s 2–0 win over Real Oviedo on Thursday night, Mbappé—who started the match on the bench—claimed he was fully fit, but no longer at the top of Álvaro Arbeloa’s pecking order.

He also appeared to fire shots at the manager by saying that the club had lost its playing style and structure in the second half of the season, while talking up his “great relationship” with Xabi Alonso.

The outburst is just the latest episode in the ongoing Mbappé saga at Real Madrid. In two seasons at the Bernabéu, the player so long coveted by Florentino Pérez has become a conundrum.

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Mbappé and Madrid Fail to Click

Kylian Mbappé’s reputation has taken a hit with recent reports. | Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images

While he is on for back-to-back Pichichi trophies as La Liga’s top scorer, Mbappé is yet to win a major team honor for Madrid, and his goals have not been able to mask a lack of chemistry with the squad’s other attacking stars.

His relationship with the club unraveled this month with the fallout from a controversial trip to Italy with his girlfriend Ester Expósito and reports of a training ground bust-up with a member of Arbeloa’s coaching staff.

On Thursday night, he was subbed on in the second half to a chorus of boos and whistles, while the forward has riled the Madrid fanbase to the point where an online petition demanding his sale has attracted millions of signatures.

But could Real Madrid really be about to cut their losses on their highest-earning player? It seems unlikely. But if they did, where might he end up?

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Six Clubs That Could (Maybe) Sign Kylian Mbappe

6. Paris Saint-Germain

Mbappé left PSG in 2024. | Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

PSG fought a long and ultimately losing battle to keep their star asset in the French capital amid Madrid’s interest.

After signing an enormous contract extension that made him the world’s highest-paid player, Mbappé still ended up leaving PSG two years later in what became a bitter divorce.

However, PSG have only improved as a team since his exit, with back-to-back Champions League finals.

While fans will always appreciate Mbappé’s legacy in Paris, that chapter appears closed.

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5. Liverpool

Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool this summer. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Long touted as an option for Mbappé during his PSG years, Liverpool do need attacking reinforcement this summer.

With Mohamed Salah departing there could be room for a marquee signing, especially with Hugo Ekitiké out of action for some time after an Achilles injury.

The finances of the deal would likely be prohibitive for the 2024–25 Premier League champions who spent so heavily in last summer’s transfer window and have other areas of improvement to address this summer.

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4. Manchester City

Erling Haaland has previously been linked with Real Madrid. | Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images

The state-funded Manchester City are one of few clubs who might not totally baulk at Mbappé’s wages, though the club would need to smash their transfer record—currently around £100 million ($133 million) for Jack Grealish in 2021—to get close to the fee needed for Mbappé.

While the notion of an Mbappé-Erling Haaland frontline sounds like the stuff of dreams for fans and nightmares for defenders, City are more likely to prioritize spending big in midfield this summer, with Elliot Anderson and João Neves among the reported targets.

A swap between Mbappé and Haaland may be the only way to make a deal work.

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3. Chelsea

Xabi Alonso is wanted by Chelsea. | Fadel SENNA/AFP/Getty Images

The option of Chelsea may become a lot more agreeable to Mbappé should they announce Xabi Alonso as their next manager.

The two had a good relationship at the Bernabéu and Mbappé has remained ‘Team Xabi’ in the locker room split.

Chelsea’s finances are reported to be precarious but co-owner Todd Boehly is nothing if not an opportunist.

London life may appeal more to Mbappé than other Premier League destinations, though a lack of Champions League action would certainly not.

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2. Arsenal

Arsenal are on the verge of greatness this season. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

A statement signing after securing the Premier League and Champions League titles? It’s a sequence of events many Arsenal fans will be dreaming of.

For a player like Mbappé, the Gunners may well be England’s most attractive club right now, as European finalists on the cusp of domestic glory for the first time in over 20 years.

Goals and attacking flair have been Arsenal’s issue under Mikel Arteta and Mbappé—for all his baggage—would be an upgrade on Viktor Gyökeres.

It goes without saying, but the club’s transfer record and wage structure would need to be blown to smithereens by the Kroenke family in a fit of post -trophy celebration ecstasy.

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1. Saudi Pro League

Mbappé would be the Saudi Pro League’s biggest coup. | Fayez NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

The most “likely” option.

With Cristiano Ronaldo’s biological clock ticking on (albeit slower than most people’s), the Saudi Pro League needs names that bring serious clout.

Salah is likely to be this summer’s big coup for the league, but the Saudis are surely attentive to developments in Mbappé’s situation and ready to make him an astronomical offer—as they did for Vinicius Jr before him.

The Saudi Pro League is yet to attract a true superstar in his prime years and it’s hard to see Mbappé—still only 27 and without a Champions League or Ballon d’Or to his name—accepting unless he has no other option.

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