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Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni recently revealed that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe tried to convince him to join the Parisians during the summer transfer window.
Tchouameni joined Los Blancos for a fee of €100 million at the start of the season. However, the former AS Monaco man said that his French teammate Mbappe wanted him to move to the French capital instead.
Tchouameni told L'Equipe (via MARCA):
"It was a very interesting conversation with Kylian, He wanted to know what I was planning to do. I also asked him what he was planning to do. In June he decided he was going to stay and he was teasing me with [PSG defender Presnel] Kimpembe: 'Come on, you have to come too [to PSG]!' But my choice had already been made a long time ago. We laughed."
He went on to speak about the atmosphere in Real Madrid's dressing room, saying:
"We are a group and we are not all here to be friends, but to respect each other and win, I didn't come in saying to myself: 'Okay, I have to be friends with so-and-so. I'm lucky to have a lot of French speakers in the group, so the adaptation is easier.
"I can tell you that taking the ball away from Luka's feet is very difficult. When you manage to take it away from a guy like that, you can take it away from anyone. If Case was still here, I wouldn't play so much. Anyway, in Madrid, if you're not good, you don't play. So if I'm playing a lot of games, it means things are going well."
Aurelien Tchouameni said playing for Real Madrid was his destiny
Tchouameni went on to say that playing for Real Madrid was his destiny. The midfielder, who has been named in France's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, said:
"In my head, I am made for this, This is my destiny. That means I've worked hard, that I've made sure I got here. Now that I'm here, what do I do? I have to earn my starting spot, I have to perform well, I have to win titles. So, I'm not here to watch."
Tchouameni also hopes to see himself on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or in the near future. He explained:
"Yes, I have a challenge with my father about that, It's up to me to achieve it as soon as possible. When Karim brought his Ballon d'Or to celebrate, in my head I said to myself: 'The Bernabeu has seen a lot of Ballon d'Ors."
Tchouameni has so far made 17 appearances across competitions for Los Blancos, providing two assists.
