Kylian Mbappe teases next club after PSG at FIFA Best awards – and it’s not Real Madrid

PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe suggested his next career move could be a surprising one after being pressed on his future as he arrived at FIFA’s The Best awards on Monday

Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid are football’s Ross and Rachel – entangled in an endless ‘will they, won’t they’ narrative before inevitably ending up together and living happily ever after.

But judging by the Frenchman’s comments during FIFA’s The Best awards ceremony on Monday, there might yet be a little twist in the tale, à la Pablo from Season One.

Shortly before finishing runner-up to PSG team-mate Lionel Messi, Mbappe admitted he had a secret Italian crush, sparking rumours of a potential love affair that would leave Madrid sick with envy and telling themselves ‘it’s just a fling’ and that ‘he’s our lobster’ (OK, no more Friends references, I promise).

As he arrived at the event in Paris, Mbappe was asked by a fan if he’d ever consider moving to Serie A, to which the 24-year-old responded: “If I come, it will only be to AC Milan.”

It isn’t the first time Mbappe has revealed an admiration for the Rossoneri. He previously told Gazzetta dello Sport that he watched a lot of Milan’s matches as a child, and regularly travelled to the city to spend time with his Italian grandmother.

“Her family, all Milan fans,” he said, “So thanks to them, I also cheered for the club and watched plenty of games.”

The likelihood of Milan being able to afford Mbappe, who joined PSG for a bigger fee (£160m) than Milan’s total spend on players in the past three seasons (£151), is rather slim – as is the probability of the French superstar choosing Serie A over La Liga or the Premier League if and when he decides to leave Paris.

Nonetheless, news of his penchant for the seven-time Champions League winners means his post-PSG future is, at the very least, a teensy bit less predictable.

Mbappe has been heavily linked with a switch to the Bernabeu for a number of years now, and very nearly signed for the Spanish giants last summer before changing his mind at the 11th hour – thanks in no small part to the ridiculously-lucrative contract extension PSG offered him.

His deal, which reportedly included a £100m signing-on fee, runs until 2024 with an option to extend by a further 12 months, which means Madrid won’t have to wait too long to get another bite of the cherry. But after Mbappe’s latest comments, Milan just might fancy rivalling them.