Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have all enquired about the sensational possibility of bringing Kylian Mbappe to the Premier League, sources have told i.
Paris Saint-Germain are determined to cut ties with the French superstar, who intends to leave the club next summer, for free – something the Ligue 1 club will not tolerate.
As a result, sources said PSG are even willing to allow Mbappe to leave on loan for a season before he joins Real Madrid in 2024, as long as his astronomical wages – he earns over £1m-a-week plus a very generous bonus package – are covered.
This has alerted at least three Premier League clubs. With Financial Fair Play restrictions to adhere to, there had not been previous English interest in Mbappe after the 24-year-old publicly revealed his wish to leave Paris last month.
Being able to foot the bill on wages and pay upwards of £150m for Mbappe, who has had his heart set on Madrid for a long time, just didn’t seem viable. Chelsea did make tentative calls, about Mbappe and Neymar, another source can reveal, but did not follow up, until this weekend.
PSG are absolutely convinced that Mbappe has a deal in place to join Madrid next summer, for a £160m signing-on fee. Sources believe Mbappe is willing to sit on the bench for a full season to see out his contract before his dream move, ensuring he receives his bumper pay packet in Paris, and his handsome signing-on bonus in Spain.
The club, as a result, just want rid, and are entertaining any kind of offer to ensure he leaves before the Ligue 1 season starts. Mbappe is not part of PSG’s pre-season tour of Asia.
The snake in the grass is Al Hilal, who have tabled a world record £259m bid for Mbappe. Remarkably, this could just be for one year, with an eye-watering £600m salary on offer, before he joins Madrid as planned.
Inter Milan and Barcelona are also set to table some kind of offer. Bids have already been made, including player swap packages. PSG are weighing up their multitude of options.
Transfer sagas are nothing new but few have the layers to it that Mbappe vs PSG has presented already.
When Mbappe stood of the Parc des Princes pitch with “Mbappe 2025” emblazoned across the back last May, his career path was mapped out.
The club were fully aware that Madrid has always been on their superstar’s radar, so the new contract he penned last year took him to this summer, with an additional year to 2025 expected to be taken up to enable PSG to generate a fee for any departure.
Everything was in place. PSG and Real Madrid could spend the next year negotiating, after the contract extension was formalised, and Mbappe could have another goal-laden season in the capital before representing France in the Paris Olympics and at the Euros, before heading to Spain in 2025.
What has transpired since, all aired in public, has made their relationship untenable.
PSG are unhappy with the role Mbappe’s mother, Fayza, has played in all this, with sources suggesting it is her behind pushing her son to consider seeing out his contract, on the bench if necessary, for maximum financial gain.
Madrid are not as cash-fluid as they used to be, with a Bernabeu to rebuild. They have offered such a signing-on fee only on the premise that he stays in Paris another year.
“I really don’t think he realises what sitting out a season – or dealing with the fans and French people in general – would be like if that’s the route he wants to go down,” a source in France says.
“The fans are absolutely killing him. His legacy is already ruined.”
It is how Mbappe has dealt with his pending exit, leaking letters and being so outspoken about his treatment, that has really irked the PSG hierarchy.
This does not appear to be something that will be resolved quickly, with more twists and turns than an alpine slalom ski run expected.
Chelsea have a phalanx of strikers to sell to fund Mbappe, United are desperate for a striker and are finally starting to shift some of the deadwood in their ranks, while Tottenham would be an almighty outsider, even if they cash in on Harry Kane.
It would break the bank for all three clubs, but for a genuine phenom of the modern game, it may be a financial risk worth taking, even for a year.
Real Madrid could also come to the table now, somehow, for fear of missing out on Mbappe altogether. Should he join a Premier League club for a year and win the title or Champions League, would he not fancy another few seasons of the same, in the most competitive league in the world? There are also not many footballers who would not consider another £600m the following year, having tasted the life of an Arabian king.
At this stage there is only one thing for certain – PSG want rid, now.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/TcN3kQF
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