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Chelsea have reportedly joined Real Madrid in the race to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
As per Marca (via Sport Witness), the Premier League side are ready to splash the cash to sign Mbappe if he would be interested. The forward's new deal at the Ligue 1 club is set to expire in 2024, thus giving him the liberty to speak to other clubs from January that year.
The Frenchman had his previous contract expiring this year and was touted to join Real Madrid on a free transfer. However, he penned a new deal at the end of the 2021-22 season and stayed put at the Parc des Princes.
Los Blancos still remain interested in signing the forward, and Mbappe has not closed the doors either.
The former AS Monaco man has started the season in prolific fashion, scoring 10 goals in eight matches in all competitions so far.
Chelsea missed out on Kylian Mbappe in 2012
Kylian Mbappe reportedly had a trial at Chelsea in 2012 and was involved in a 7-0 win over Charlton. However, the club wanted him to undergo another trial, which his mother refused.
Former Chelsea scout Daniel Boga told Goal that the French forward's mother was not interested in bringing her son back. She was ready to let him join the club immediately if they were interested. He recalled:
"I brought him over with his family. He was skilful, like he is now. He played against Charlton and won 7-0. After a week at Chelsea, we went into the office. We said 'Listen, we appreciate what we saw from you but we have to invite you back for another trial and we'll see after that'."
He added:
"I remember what the mother said to this day. She spoke in French and I was translating. She said to me, 'Listen, my boy won't be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now or in five year's time they will be coming back to buy him for €50million!'"
Speaking about the possible reason Chelsea rejected signing Mbappe to their academy back then, Boga said:
"He was very skilful but in England they want to see the player track back and be a hard worker. At the time, he wasn't a hard worker. Defensively, he wasn't there yet. When he got the ball, he was unbelievable, but without the ball, he didn't work a lot. Chelsea wanted to see him again to see how he could improve on this. I think that's why they asked him back."
He added:
"He did skilful things and dribbled well. So, maybe the things they wanted to see in the second trial was improved work on the defensive side. They should have signed him. To be fair, though, it is easy to say that now. But, at the time, Chełsea had a good squad."
Mbappe has now become a world beater, scoring 181 goals and providing 88 assists in 225 matches for PSG, winning multiple titles.
