Real Madrid transfer saga continues to cause conflict months after offer got rejected

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has just about had enough of Real Madrid's attempts to make underhanded moves to attract Kylian Mbappe. Months after the end of the the summer transfer window, Leonardo does not appreciate how Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is still taking about the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Perez recently said there will be news about the Mbappe situation in January, leading many to believe that he meant that the club is ready to sign a pre-contract agreement with the 22-year-old forward. He later clarified that his words were misinterpreted, and all he meant was that nothing can be decided now until the winter transfer window opens in January.

"My words were misinterpreted. What I said is that we have to wait until next year to find out, always with respect for PSG, with whom we have a good relationship," he said, as quoted by Marca.

Leonardo is not buying the explanation, and has criticised the Spanish giants for their actions. "This is another example of the lack of respect for PSG and for Mbappe," he told French publication L'Equipe.

He also pointed out that apart from Perez, Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema and manager Carlo Ancelotti have also been speaking to the press about Mbappe's future. "In the same week a Real Madrid player, then the Real Madrid coach and now the president talk about Kylian as if he was already one of their own. I repeat: this is a lack of respect that we cannot tolerate," he said.

Benzema said that Mbappe is determined to join Real Madrid, and the latter repeated the same when he faced the press earlier this week. Mbappe said that he was ready to leave PSG over the summer, with the Spanish capital his intended destination. He informed PSG of his decision back in July, and he also accused club officials of lying when they said that he informed them too late in the summer about his plan to leave.

Mbappe also admitted that he felt afraid when he heard PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi saying that he would never be allowed to leave for free. The French international is under contract with PSG until the summer of 2022, which means he should be able to join Los Blancos regardless of what PSG wants. However, the club seems determined to make him stay, and it remains to be seen exactly how they can pull that off.