Nasser Al-Khelaifi Says Kylian Mbappe Did Not Choose PSG For Money As He Aims Dig At La Liga

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi hits back at La Liga chief Javier Tebas over his criticism regarding the new contract given to Kylian Mbappe.

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has refuted claims that money was the main factor behind's Kylian Mbappe decision to stay at the club.

Mbappe had been pursued by Real Madrid for many months and was offered a lucrative package to join the Spanish champions on a free transfer this summer.

But despite agreeing deals with both Real and PSG in principle, Mbappe decided last week to put pen to paper in Paris rather than Madrid.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left) faced the media alongside Kylian Mbappe on Monday :: IMAGO/PanoramiC/Aurelien Morissard

Mbappe called Real president Florentino Perez to let him know of his decision before PSG announced it on Saturday.

It was a decision that disappointed La Liga president Javier Tebas as much as it did anyone directly involved with Real.

Tebas demanded to know how PSG had been able to fund Mbappe's new contract - which he called an "insult to football" - in the era of UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.

He also said: "Al-Khelafi is as dangerous as the Super League."

Lo que va a hacer el PSG renovando a Mbappé con grandes cantidades de dinero (a saber dónde y cómo las paga) despues de dar pérdidas por 700M€ en las últimas temporadas y tener mas 600M€ de masa salarial, es un INSULTO al fútbol. Al-Khelafi es tan peligroso como la Superliga. pic.twitter.com/sZ1Y1TaSbK

— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) May 21, 2022

Mbappe's contract is believed to have included a €150m signing-on fee, but Al-Khelafi has hinted that the money on offer in Madrid was potentially even higher.

"Money is not the most important thing for Kylian Mbappe," said Al-Khelafi at a press conference on Monday, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"There's another club in Spain that can pay way more than us. The sports project was the most important point for Mbappe."

In response to the criticism from Tebas, Al-Khelafi suggested that the La Liga boss was simply scared of France's Ligue 1 becoming a better product than Spain's top league.

Al-Khelafi said: "Maybe Tebas is worried that Ligue 1 becomes stronger than La Liga…

"La Liga isn't the same as it was three or four years ago.

"We have Mbappe, he stays with us and the rest, honestly I don't care."