Mbappe in position of power at PSG after agreeing to new deal
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Mbappe's decision to stay at PSG confirms the club's position of power within European football.
Paris (Agencies) - Kylian Mbappe s decision to stay at Paris Saint-Germain confirms the Qatar-backed club s position of power within European football but also means the superstar striker is likely to wield huge influence as they rebuild for another assault on the Champions League.
The 23-year-old had for so long seemed certain to sign for Real Madrid before being persuaded to commit to a new three-year deal at PSG, the club he joined in 2017 from Monaco.
His new salary is set to be even more eye-watering than before and accompanied by an astronomical signing-on fee: there were reports that Real s own offer included a signing-on fee of 150 million Euros ($154m).
Yet PSG will also be determined to do everything they can to provide Mbappe with a team good enough to deliver finally the trophy he wants the most, and that the Qataris have chased without success since arriving in Paris in 2011.
This season s defeat in the last 16 to Real Madrid following a collapse in the second leg was just the latest humiliation for PSG in the Champions League, a series that most notably includes the 6-1 defeat to Barcelona in 2017.
Five years ago they reacted to that stinging loss by signing Neymar from Barcelona as well as a teenage Mbappe.
Now they have exacted revenge on Madrid by denying them Mbappe.
"I always said that Paris was my home. I hope I can carry on doing what I love most -- playing football and winning trophies," the player said after the announcement of his new deal and before scoring a hat-trick in PSG s 5-0 win over Metz on Saturday in their last game of the season.
Hours after that came the news that sporting director Leonardo -- heavily criticised by supporters -- had been fired.
Reports in France on Sunday suggested PSG may now look to replace Leonardo with Luis Campos, the Portuguese recruitment guru who helped build title-winning teams at Lille and Monaco and knows Mbappe well.
