After months of speculation, French superstar Kylian Mbappe has officially confirmed he will be leaving Paris Saint-Germian during the upcoming summer transfer window. The 25-year-old World Cup winner released a video on Friday speaking directly to PSG fans, telling them that this will be his last season with the club. Now, all that remains is for Mbappe to confirm that he is heading to Spain to join Real Madrid, as has also been rumored for a while now.

“I always said that I would speak with you when the time comes,” Mbappe said in French. “And so I wanted to announce to you all that it's my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks. I will play my last game at Parc des Princes on Sunday.”

This is a massive move in the football world. After Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe is arguably the most popular and recognizable player in the world.

The native Parisian started his top-flight professional career at Monaco where he played for three seasons before returning home — first on loan and then — for a €180 million transfer fee. At PSG, Mbappe truly became a global superstar, racking up 255 goals and 108 assists during 306 appearances in all competitions.

While at PSG Mbappe not only also won a World Cup trophy with France, he also played alongside two of the other biggest superstars in the world, Messi and Neymar.

Despite all the success, there were issues for Mbappe playing in France's Ligue 1. Despite dominating their domestic league to the tune of six Ligue 1 titles in seven years, PSG has not found UEFA Champions League success, possibly because the domestic league does not act as a challenging tuneup for European competition. Additionally, while PSG is one of the most popular clubs worldwide, Ligue 1 is no better than the fifth-best/most popular league in the world.

So, at 25, it makes sense that Mbappe sees it as time to branch out and seek greener pastures, which makes the next pressing question, where will Mbappe end up next?

Will Kylian Mbappe end up at Real Madrid after leaving PSG? 

France forward Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against Argentina on a penalty kick for his third goal of the match during extra time of the 2022 World Cup final at Lusail Stadium.
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

While every team in the world would love to have Kylian Mbappe on their side after leaving PSG, there are only a handful of clubs that can truly afford a player like that.

One option — that many older stars are taking nowadays — is to go to Saudi Arabia for absurd amounts of money. However, at 25, that seems unlikely.

The other options include the top English Premier League teams (Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal) or the other top team in Spain, Barcelona. While several of these teams make sense from a money, competition, and prestige standpoint, Mbappe seemingly wants to go to Spain more than England and Barcelona is in a bit of financial troubles these days.

That's why Real Madrid makes the most sense and the transfer rumors are so loud.

Now that Kylian Mbappe is officially out at PSG, it seems like it's only a matter of time before he joins Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr., and the rest of the young stars at Real Madrid in a few months.