Marco Verratti has joked that seeing Kylian Mbappe in Madrid made him "feel sick" before the PSG star told him he was simply on holiday.
The Frenchman is heavily linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes. He's contract expires in the summer and, despite PSG's best efforts, he could leave for nothing with some reports suggesting Real Madrid have already agreed a deal with the World Cup winner.
Mbappe joined PSG as a teenage sensation and has continued to go from strength to strength in the French capital. He's scored 168 times in five seasons, notching twice against Los Blancos in this season's Champions League. The 23-year-old was recently spotted in the Spanish capital but assured his teammate there was nothing to worry about.
Verratti told Le Parisien : “It will have an impact on the club, whatever his decision will be. He’s one of the best players on the planet right now so we all want him to stay here. But when I speak with him, it’s more just to have a laugh. In football, when you have something on your mind, if a decision is coming up, you don’t talk about it.
"It’s his decision, and I’m waiting for it like you are. When I was on my day off and I saw a notification saying that Kylian is in Madrid, it made me sick [laughs]. Even if afterwards he told me: 'Don’t worry, I was on holiday'. We’re all waiting to find out."
Mbappe was linked with a move to Madrid back in 2017 before PSG won the race for his signature. They have long targeted big name signings and there is a demand from their fanbase to add major signings. Verratti has made his feelings clear to Mbappe, hoping he remains in Paris.
"No, because he knows what I think," he said when quizzed on if he'd offered any advice. "I wouldn’t be a good advisor, in any case not an objective one. I wouldn’t be thinking about his own good, but that of everyone here in Paris."
Mbappe opened up on his future earlier this week and said a decision on his next move was imminent. “It will be known very soon, it’s almost done," claimed the Frenchman at the UNFP awards. "My decision is made, yes, almost."
He continued: "Why was I so slow? You have to respect all parties. I know that people expected a lot from me. That's normal. I'm in a hurry too. But it's not only about me. But here it is, it's finished right now, there are just some details left."
