PSG star Kylian Mbappe reportedly told EA Sports to put him in a Real Madrid shirt on the upcoming edition of video game series FIFA as links to the Bernabeu drew stronger - before he committed his future to the Ligue 1 side.
Mbappe looked nailed on to join Los Blancos this summer with his contract at PSG expiring at the end of June, but those rumours were swiftly nipped in the bud after the shock announcement that he was signing a new three-year deal in May.
The eye-watering contract - said to be worth around £42million a year and including a £100m signing bonus - is believed to offer Mbappe a much bigger influence within the club's hierarchy, with decision making on recruitment and managerial hiring.
But according to the New York Times, his move to Madrid looked so certain that he had instructed EA Sports to begin designing his FIFA character in a Madrid jersey after visiting them in the Big Apple.
Mbappe's transfer saga dragged on for much of 2022 and saw both clubs aim barbs at each other as frustration over negotiations grew.
After Madrid failed to get Mbappe over the line, LaLiga chief Javier Tebas hit out at the French club for offering the player such a lucrative deal, calling it 'an insult to football' and also labelled president Nasser Al-Khelaifi 'as dangerous as the European Super League'.
He spoke of how 'not many of the athletes he meets are willing sit through strategy sessions and then riff on it with us, pointing out various different elements that he might sharpen and change', and are keen to discuss 'global positioning' and 'the permanence' of their public image.
The interview also saw Mbappe discuss the role he wants to play outside of the game, saying he wants to be 'more than just the guy who shoots the ball and finishes his career and goes to the yacht and takes his money'.
'No, I want to be more than that. And sometimes people can think, "Yeah, it’s too much, I have to just play football". But I think not. I think the world has changed.'
One project Mbappe is commited to is a film on the life of a Syrian refugee that he will produce with his TV company Zebra Valley.
CREDITS: All Football