Kylian Mbappe has revealed how he spoke to Real Madrid to inform them that he was turning down the chance to join them this summer before publicly confirming a new deal to stay at Paris Saint-Germain.
The France striker's future had been unclear throughout the campaign with his initial contract at the newly crowned champions being set to expire at the end of the season.
Real Madrid have held a long term interest in the World Cup winner and had multiple bids for the forward turned down last summer including one for £154million.
Yet Mbappe confirmed on Saturday before scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Metz on the final day of the season that he would be staying in France on a new three-year mega deal worth £34million a season at £650,000 per week, despite all signs pointing to him of heading to the Bernabeu.
In a press conference on Monday, Mbappe told reporters that he made up his mind as late as last week but insists he was honest to all parties throughout the talks over his future and that he personally contacted Real Madrid president Florentino Perez to show his respect to their interest by informing him them of his decision privately.
'It was last week' Mbappe said. 'I didn't announce it to my team-mates because the club didn't want me to. They wanted that to remain a secret and a surprise for everybody, even though it was hard to keep surprises.
'I think a lot of people had some information on Saturday. I wanted to call the Real Madrid president Florentino Perez before announcing it at Paris Saint-Germain.
'I have a lot of respect for him and their club they have done a lot to make me as happy as possible. As a respectful person I owed to it to them to speak to them personally I though that was the best thing to do.
'We managed to finalise the contract and announce the news at the Parc des Princes.'
Mbappe has enjoyed an excellent season at PSG helping the club win back the Ligue 1 title having scored the most goals and provided the most assists in France during the campaign.
Mbappe was sat beside PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi who hit back at LaLiga chief Javier Tebas following the Spanish top flight's recent claims that they would report Mbappe's failed Madrid move to UEFA as being against the economic interest of the game.
'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', Al Khelaifi said. 'We have Mbappe, he stays with us and the rest, honestly I don't care'.
Al Khelaifi also hinted that Mbappe didn't just stay PSG due to the financial clout of his side, suggesting that a move away from Parc des Princes was a more lucrative option for the striker.
'Money is not the most important thing for Kylian Mbappe. There's another club in Spain that can pay way more than us. The sports project was the most important point for Mbappe,' he added.