Paris Saint-Germain Willing to Accept £259m Bid for Kylian Mbappe
Paris Saint-Germain are willing to accept Al Hilal’s eye-watering £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe, though the forward is unconvinced and has other suitors queuing up.
The 24-year-old, who is refusing to sign an extension with the French champions, has been put up for sale and was also left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea.
Mbappe’s Options
Mbappe is already thought to have an agreement in place to join Real Madrid next year on a free transfer having made it clear he will not be triggering a one-year extension, but PSG are desperate to land a fee now.
That has seen Al Hilal put forward a potential compromise, proposing to pay PSG a world record £259m transfer fee before handing Mbappe a one-year deal that would allow him join Real for free next summer.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, the Parisian club are willing to accept the offer from Saudi Arabia and have granted them permission to speak to the striker – though the deal is still extremely complicated.
Mbappe’s Hesitation
Mbappe is not convinced about moving to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career, even if only for one season, though Al Hilal are willing to pay him £604m – a salary that would make him the highest-paid football of all time, and equates to around £11.6m per week.
The former Monaco striker also has other offers to consider, though they are far less lucrative.
Barcelona’s Interest
L’Equipe are reporting that Barcelona have scheduled a meeting with their PSG counterparts for later on Monday in order to discuss the logistics of a potential transfer.
The Catalan club are mired in Financial Fair Play issues already and any deal would have to involve several top players moving in the other direction.
Other Suitors
Chelsea, Manchester United and even Tottenham are also being credited with interest in Mbappe and have all enquired about his situation too.
The French captain moved to PSG initially on loan in 2017 before completing a £150m transfer a year later – a fee that ranks second behind team-mate Neymar’s £198m move from Barca in the all-time record fees list.
He is believed to earn as much as £2m a week already after opting against forcing a move to Real Madrid last year, instead signing a contract extension that expires in 2024 should he choose not to trigger the one-year extension.
Mbappe netted 29 goals in just 34 appearances in Ligue 1 last season, as well as netting seven times in the Champions League, while he famously scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final but ultimately ended up on the losing side against Argentina.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen where Mbappe will end up this summer, but it is clear that he has several options available. Al Hilal’s offer is certainly tempting for PSG, but it remains to be seen if Mbappe will be convinced by the Saudi club’s proposal. With Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham all interested in the 24-year-old, it could be an interesting few weeks ahead for the Frenchman.
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