I’m going to Bernabeu to play and win: Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe spoke to Marca about speculations regarding his move to Real Madrid and also about his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.

The PSG star, who recently turned 19 is a star who has the potential to become the next big thing in football. His performances with Monaco garnered the attention of big European teams and Mbappe revealed that he held talks with Real Madrid before joining PSG.

"[I turned down Real Madrid] because PSG is the team of my city," Mbappe explained in an exclusive interview with MARCA.

"There were many rumours of a transfer, it's true that we spoke, but I think that's now in the past for me and for Real Madrid.

“[Joining Real Madrid] would have been like a Real Madrid-supporting kid from Madrid having the chance to play for his team and deciding to go somewhere else, to another country.

"I play for PSG now and I am going to defend these colours 100 percent," he said.

The forward also spoke about his childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo. "Yes, of course. He is a hero from my childhood and it was amazing to meet him when I visited Valdebebas.”

He suggested that he admired the Portuguese but warned that his competitive spirit will urge him to win.

“I am a competitor and a person who is very competitive and all I want to do is win, win, win. So it doesn't really matter who is in front of us, we want to win. I admired him when I was younger, but that ended. Now I go to the Bernabeu to play and to win."

Mbappe also opined the while there is a lot to learn from Ronaldo, who has won five Ballon d’ors –PSG have players who are just as good.

"You learn from them, of course. From someone who has won five Ballon d'Ors you can learn a lot. He's a great player, but I have those here too. Neymar is here and I think he is very similar and is at practically the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo. I learn from [Edinson] Cavani as a goalscorer too."