Kylian Mbappe wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid – but due to contractual issues, there is a possibility he could in fact be playing in the Premier League next season.
PSG may have granted permission for Mbappe to speak to Al Hilal after a world-record £259m bid from the Saudi club, but the future of the France international is far from certain at this point.
The forward has one year remaining on his contract and is unwilling to sign a new one. He is even prepared to spend the entirety of next season on the bench. PSG believe he has already agreed to join Real Madrid for free next summer and do not want to lose their prize asset for nothing so are now looking to do a deal this summer.
PSG believe at least five clubs are interested in signing Mbappe, with Tottenham among them.
There is said to already be a “hot market” for Mbappe with the interested clubs also including Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona.
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains the most likely series of events which would need to play out for Mbappe to sign for an English club…
“There is a scenario that Mbappe could end up in the Premier League. I don’t think he’s going to be playing in the Premier League in a couple of weeks’ time but there is a scenario.
“PSG have said in the past 48 hours a hyper-competitive market has been created for Mbappe. They say they’ve had huge interest and the bid from Al Hilal is not the only offer they’ve received. Other clubs are formulating offers for him.
“If Mbappe says no to Saudi Arabia and if PSG stick to their position that he is not going to play for them again, then there is a situation where the clock is ticking and we’ll get to Deadline Day and PSG would be in a position to send him out on loan.
“At least then they’d get a loan fee and a club to pay his wages. Therefore, he’s out of the way.
Premier League clubs Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham are believed to be interested in a deal for Mbappe
“They would prefer to do that with a club who aren’t in the Champions League – maybe a club like Chelsea would come into play or Tottenham. He would need to be playing to stay fit for the Euros next summer.
“Is there a Premier League club that can go head-to-head with Al Hilal and offer the kind of transfer fee or wages? Absolutely not.
“Mbappe also doesn’t want to come to the Premier League, he wants to go to Real Madrid. If he digs his heels in and stays where he is, he picks up more than £100m over the next 12 months in wages and loyalty bonuses.
“Then next summer he signs for Real Madrid and picks up a £160m signing fee and massive wages.”
Analysis: Will Mbappe be convinced to move to Saudi Arabia?
Mbappe’s proposed move to Al Hilal would make him the most expensive player of all time, surpassing Neymar’s £198m deal with PSG
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“It’s all well and good the club giving Al Hilal permission to speak to Kylian Mbappe – but does Mbappe want to speak to Al Hilal? So far there has been no indication Mbappe is interested in moving to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘he only wants to go to Real Madrid, Al Hilal and all these other clubs are wasting their time’. But these Saudis, the sovereign wealth fund and PIF are the same people who have effectively just bought golf. They just bought a whole sport, pretty much.
“They’re the same people who offered Tiger Woods $700m to sign up with the LIV Golf tour. If they can afford to spend $700m on Tiger Woods, who is past his best and approaching the end of his career, why wouldn’t they throw enormous sums at Kylian Mbappe, who a lot of people would say is the best player in the world at the moment.
“There are some incredible numbers flying around. Some US outlets are reporting that Al Hilal are offering Mbappe something like €700m for one season and saying he can then go and move to Real Madrid. That is not something I’ve seen. All I know for sure, is this offer was made from Al Hilal to PSG on Saturday for €300m.”
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