Liverpool get news they need to kickstart Kylian Mbappe move

Liverpool have received the news they needed in order to have any chance of landing French striker, Kylian Mbappe. The player is out of contract this summer.

Multiple sources, including the Athletic, report that Kylian Mbappe has informed Paris Saint-Germain that he will leave the club at the end of the season. Mbappe's contract expires at the end of June and he wishes to move on.

An official announcement is expected when things are finalised. The 'terms' of his exit still require agreement and the suggestion here is that things could all be confirmed over the next few months.

Mbappe signed a two-year contract back in 2021 that included an option for an extra year. The striker was the only one who could trigger that option and had to have done so by July last year.

He chose not to, meaning the only way he could remain with PSG beyond this season was to agree on a new contract. That has always seemed unlikely and talk of an exit has continued all season long.

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The Athletic mention that Real Madrid have long been favourites to secure Mbappe's long-term future. He was leaning that way, say their sources, only for some doubt to creep in over the last few weeks.

It's telling that news of Mbappe leaving PSG comes without news of him agreeing a contract elsewhere. He's been able to do that since January 1st but it appears there is no such agreement.

Thus the door remains open for other parties. One of those could be Liverpool.

The Reds have wanted Mbappe since his AS Monaco days and an interesting report in the Independent this week claimed his people reached out to last year. Liverpool, though, were unwilling to break their wage structure to make a move happen.

Things have changed at Anfield, however. Jurgen Klopp will step down at the end of the season, while Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk move into the final year of their contracts. The pair are the highest earners at Liverpool, per Capology.

Now, Klopp's exit may prevent any possibility of Mbappe joining - the German has massive pull and his departure creates uncertainty at Anfield. However, there's also talk that Liverpool will have a 'huge' budget available this summer.

All we know for sure is that Liverpool needed Mbappe to actively want to leave PSG for any real chance of signing him. It would have always suggested he isn't making a purely financial decision, given the Parisians can offer him that more than anyone.

His exit is now happening and the door to Anfield feels at least partially open.