Kylian Mbappé confirmed what the football world was long expecting to hear, announcing he is leaving Paris Saint-Germain ahead of a widely expected move to Real Madrid.

Mbappé said on X that his final home match for PSG would be on Sunday (local time) against Toulouse.

"I never thought it would be this difficult to leave my country," he said in the video post.

"I think I needed this, a new challenge after seven years."

An emotional-looking Mbappé gulped and paused for breath as he addressed PSG's fans.

"It's a club I will keep in my mind for my entire life. I will tell everybody I had the chance to play here," he said.

Mbappé, 25, now captains France and won the World Cup in 2018, becoming the second teenager — after Pelé — to score in the tournament's final.

He top-scored at the 2022 World Cup and snared a rare hat-trick in the loss to Argentina via penalties in the final.

Mbappé joined PSG in 2017 from Monaco in a deal worth 180 million euros ($293 million).

He has scored 255 goals for PSG, with his prolific output helping to deliver six league titles in seven years.

Mbappé's departure will end the superstar era at PSG.

He arrived at the club along with Neymar, while the club was also a stop for Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edinson Cavani and Lionel Messi.

None could win the Champions League with PSG, which has spent billions in transfer fees and paid massive wages.

The fact Mbappé played under so many coaches also underlined the hire-and-fire attitude of the club's cash-rich Qatari owner QSI, which took over in 2011.

Mbappé starred for Monaco as an 18-year-old sensation when it reached the semifinals of the Champions League seven years ago.

By the time Real Madrid likely signs Mbappé, the Spanish powerhouse may have clinched a record-extending 15th Champions League title.

Real Madrid plays Dortmund in the final on June 1 at Wembley, one week after Mbappé's last appearance for PSG in the French Cup final against Lyon.

AP