Real Madrid chief backpedals on plan to strike Mbappe deal in January

Madrid, Oct 5, 2021 (AFP) - Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said on Tuesday he wished Kylian Mbappe's transfer to the Spanish club would be finalised by January before back-pedalling on his comments later in the day.

On Monday, World Cup winner Mbappe said he had told Paris Saint-Germain he wanted to leave the French capital last July, a month before Madrid bid 180 million euros ($209 million) for him -- an offer PSG turned down.

"In January, we will have news from Mbappe," Perez told Spanish media outlet El Debate early on Tuesday.

"We hope that on January 1 everything can be solved," he added before going back on his statement.

"My remarks were incorrectely interpreted," he told French radio station RMC later in the day.

"What I said was that we have to wait until next year to have news and still with the respect and good relationship with PSG that we have."

Mbappe's deal at Parc des Princes ends next summer with the former Monaco attacker free to hold talks with potential employers in January.