Kylian Mbappe arrived at Paris Saint-Germain's training ground on Friday amid the expectation Real Madrid would push to complete his signing in the coming hours.
Mbappe wore a white baseball cap and white T-shirt, and whether by accident or design that only fuelled anticipation of a blockbuster move to Los Blancos.
According to reports in Spain, Madrid have offered €170million plus €10million in add-ons for the France striker.
Mbappe was pictured by El Chiringuito TV arriving at the PSG premises ahead of a scheduled training session.
He was reported to have arrived shortly after 09:30 local time, with PSG due to step up preparation for their Ligue 1 clash with Reims on Sunday evening.
Mbappe, 22, has entered the final year of his PSG contract and there has been no indication of a desire on his part to extend his stay. He would be able to leave on a free transfer at the end of the current season, were he not to agree new terms.
The 2018 World Cup winner joined from Monaco in 2017 and has scored 133 goals in 174 games for the Parisians, at a rate of one goal every 102.46 minutes.
He has scored six hat-tricks for PSG and would join up with France team-mate Karim Benzema in Madrid's attack should the move to Spain go through.
PSG sporting director Leonardo was also pictured making his way into the training facility.
Earlier this week, Leonardo expressed dissatisfaction as the saga unfolded, with PSG having heavily invested during the close season to assemble a formidable squad.
They have brought in Lionel Messi from Barcelona in a staggering move, as well as acquiring the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi.
Messi could make his debut against Reims, but that factor was being overshadowed by the prospect of PSG possibly losing Mbappe, a player they hoped to build the team around for years to come.
Leonardo said on Wednesday: "We cannot be happy with this situation, because we did something this summer, we have created a dream, we will not let anyone destroy it or position themselves above the club.
"Kylian is at the centre of the project but not above it. We created a positive atmosphere, a desire, an emotion. That was our plan."
Among players from Europe's top five leagues, only Messi and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski have had more goal involvements – scoring and assisting – than Mbappe since the PSG frontman made his debut for the Parisians in September 2017.
Messi has had 236 involvements, Lewandowski 213 and Mbappe 191, with Cristiano Ronaldo (172) ranking fourth on the list.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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