Sports

Mbappe ‘confused’ by ‘political and economic pressure’, Perez says

AFP

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed Kylian Mbappe decided to stay at Paris Saint-Germain because he was “confused” after being put under intense “political and economic pressure”.

But when asked about the possibility of Mbappe joining Real Madrid in the future, Perez kept the door open to the 23-year-old.

“This Mbappe is not my Mbappe,” Perez said. “But if he changes, who knows? Life takes a thousand turns.”

Mbappe stunned Real Madrid last month by rejecting a move to the Santiago Bernabeu in favour of signing a new three-year contract at PSG, with a reported salary of between 40 to 50 million euros ($41.6 million to $52 million) .

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“They practically offered him the chance to be the leader, not only of a football team, but the management,” Perez told the Spanish television programme El Chiringuito on Wednesday.

“We saw that it was not the Mbappe that we wanted to bring – but it was a result of the pressure he was under that he changed his dreams.

“If a kid is called by the president of a country, of course it affects him… that influenced him a lot. But you can succeed at Real Madrid, like Zidane did, and also be a source of pride for the president of your country.”

Perez believes Mbappe was influenced most by French and Qatari political pressure, due to the reported involvement of French president Emmanuel Macron, as well as PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is chairman of Qatar Sports Investments.

“I think the pressure that might have affected him the most was the politics,” Perez said.

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“That, plus the money and the offer of leadership have made him change his mind. He had a hard time. When you get into a panic, you try to get out of that as quickly as possible, I can understand that. But what I can’t understand is the King of Spain calling a Spanish club to tell him a player should stay.

“There are two states involved there, one is Qatar and the other is France,” Perez continued. “I have been here since 2000 and I have never seen that before, that a president of a state calls a player. You can be a world-class player and not play in France, like (Zinedine) Zidane or (Karim) Benzema.”

Asked for a second time about Mbappe joining in the future, Perez said: “I tell you calmly, that life is not over yet.”

Real Madrid had also been linked with a move for Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund but by the time Mbappe chose to stay at PSG, Haaland had joined Manchester City.

“It had nothing to do with it. We already have the best centre-forward in the world (Benzema) so this situation was incompatible with Haaland,” Perez said.

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Sports

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha lead Barça to a 4-1 aggregate victory over Benfica

Young talent Lamine Yamal and Brazilian forward Raphinha secured Barcelona’s spot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Benfica (4-1 on aggregate) on Tuesday at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc.

Raphinha (11’) opened the scoring for Barça after a brilliant assist from Yamal. However, Benfica’s Nicolás Otamendi (13’) quickly leveled the match with a header from a corner kick. Yamal restored the lead (27’) with a stunning goal, and Raphinha sealed the victory (42’) just before halftime.

Determined to avoid any surprises, Barcelona started aggressively, with early attempts from Yamal and Lewandowskisignaling their intent to dominate. All goals came in the first half, securing a convincing win and a place in the next round.

Sports

Manchester United knocked out of FA Cup after penalty shootout loss to Fulham

Another disappointment for Manchester United: the defending FA Cup champions were eliminated in this edition’s round of 16, losing in a penalty shootout (4-3 after a 1-1 draw) to Fulham on Sunday at Old Trafford.

Swede Victor Lindelof and Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee were the ‘Red Devils’ who missed their shots against goalkeeper Bernd Leno, sending the ‘Cottagers’ to the penultimate round of the oldest football competition.

The elimination is a heavy blow for a United team that is currently struggling in the Premier League, where they sit in a lowly 14th place.

Now, the Europa League, where they will face Real Sociedad in the first leg of the round of 16 next week, appears to be their only chance to lift a trophy this season. Last year, the FA Cup, in which United triumphed in the final against their neighbors Manchester City, was the competition that saved their campaign. The previous season, they had reached the final, finishing as runners-up.

Sports

The prince is back: Neymar’s homecoming to Santos draws thousands of fans

Neymar was greeted by thousands of fans at his childhood club, Santos, on Friday, with a concert at the local stadium and a sign that read, “The Prince is Back.”

The Brazilian star’s private jet landed in São Paulo from Saudi Arabia in the morning, but Neymar requested a few hours of rest before being flown to Santos by helicopter.

The 32-year-old forward is expected to sign a short-term contract with Santos as he aims to regain his standing in Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Posters saying “The Prince is Back” were being sold for 10 reais (about $1.50) around the 20,000-seat Vila Belmiro Stadium, located on the outskirts of São Paulo.