Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have been left baffled by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal’s near-$100 million bid for their star striker Kylian Mbappe after he declared his intention to stay at his current club. Real Madrid, meanwhile, who are suspected of already having an agreement in place to sign him next summer, are relaxed.
“Mbappe’s refusal to even listen to the Saudi offer has left PSG in a state of disarray,” the British newspaper The Times reported on July 27, adding that the club is “still trying to figure out how to deal with his sale.” However, the Saudi negotiators have indicated that they are willing to make every effort to talk to Mbappe, which gives PSG hope.
PSG apparently found the offer from Al-Hilal to be reasonable. Al Hilal offered to cover Mbappe’s transfer fee and salary in exchange for a one-year contract in 2023/24.
While a transfer fee of over 400 million won would have been sweet for PSG, Mbappe’s salary of 99 million won would have been hard for anyone to turn down. However, Mbappe,메이저놀이터 who is a free agent after playing for PSG in the 2023/24 season, is reportedly not considering this move by PSG and Al-Hilal at all.
PSG left Mbappe out of their Asian tour roster in an attempt to force a move. However, Mbappe appears to have remained in Paris, accepting a second-team role and participating in training.
Mbappe, who joined PSG on loan in 2017 and made the move permanent ahead of the 2018/19 season, has been one of the club’s most popular players, but he stunned the club and fans this summer by announcing his future move himself.
He recently announced that he will not be signing a new contract with PSG, and will leave the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2024. Mbappe had already requested a move to Real Madrid ahead of the 2022/23 season, but this time he made it clear that he wanted to leave the club.
As a result, PSG will not be dragged around by Mbappe and will only offer him a choice between a contract extension and a move this summer.
President Nasser Al-Khelaifi told a press conference in the clubhouse on Friday: “If Mbappe doesn’t want to sign a new contract, the door is always open. No one is bigger than the club. That goes for the player and that goes for me,” he said, warning that the decision would have to be made against the player’s will.
When Mbappe refused to budge, PSG dropped him from its Asian tour roster and, according to local reports in France, was willing to exclude him from the league and UEFA Champions League next season if he insisted on staying.
After PSG announced their intention to sell Mbappe, a number of clubs, including Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, came calling, but Mbappe refused to budge.
European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano exclusively reported on social media that “Al-Hilal has submitted an official bid to PSG to open talks for Kylian Mbappe,” and several media outlets later reported that Al-Hilal was prepared to pay a transfer fee of €300 million (KRW 425.5 million) and a salary of €700 million (KRW 99.3 million) for Mbappe.
However, the Saudi offer was reportedly quickly rejected, and Al-Hilal is reportedly trying to convince Mbappe and Real to keep him for just one season.
Despite all of this, Mbappe has remained unfazed by PSG’s off-field labeling and attempts to sell him, and has returned to training as normal.
“Mbappe trains with other players even as standoff with PSG continues,” global sports outlet ESPN reported on Friday.
“Mbappe trained with other PSG players who did not make the Asian tour roster,” ESPN reported. PSG has received a €300 million offer from Al-Hilal, but Mbappe must accept the move for the clubs to reach an agreement. “Mbappe has not been contacted directly by Al-Hilal and will not be open to a transfer under any circumstances,” said a source, adding that Mbappe has turned down a trip to Saudi Arabia and is continuing to train with the team.
“Mbappe has been training with other players who are not part of Luis Enrique’s plans, such as Leandro Paredes and Georginio Wijnaldum. According to our sources, he seemed happy and unconcerned about the situation,” he said, explaining that Mbappe showed a nonchalant attitude towards his exclusion from the team.
As for Mbappe’s destination, the outlet added: “Al-Hilal are the only team to have made a formal offer for Mbappe, but he is reportedly only interested in joining Real. However, Real want PSG to make the first move before the club opens negotiations,” adding that while Real is the only destination for Mbappe, PSG will have to try and negotiate first.
Meanwhile, after Mbappe rejected a Saudi offer to stay, PSG are now considering a deal with Real, the only destination he wants.
“An agent has been appointed to lead the negotiations between PSG and Real Madrid for Mbappe,” Loic Tanji, a journalist for French outlet L’Equipe, who is well versed in PSG news, reported on Friday, suggesting that PSG is preparing to hold talks with Real over a move for Mbappe.
French outlet PSG Talk also cited Loic Tansey’s report, saying, “PSG and Real have appointed an agent to negotiate a contract with Mbappe. PSG do not want the transfer speculation to continue. Real must either come up with the money to make the transfer happen now, or find a combination of cash and players that will meet PSG’s demands,” he said, noting that the two clubs will begin talks.
“PSG want to finalize the deal quickly, so I don’t think they will come out strong in the negotiations. They want to build a team with young and enthusiastic players in a project led by Luis Enrique,” he said, explaining that PSG want to get rid of Mbappe quickly, so if they enter negotiations, they will be able to maximize Real’s offer.
The reason for PSG’s receptivity is that if Real and PSG’s negotiations go awry, it would be a big problem. If Mbappe’s move to Real falls through ahead of next season and he remains on the PSG bench, the rift between the player and the club will only get worse.
There have even been reports that PSG will suspend his wages and demote him to the second team if he doesn’t leave this summer, but Mbappe has made it clear that he is prepared to miss the entire year and is not considering any other destination than PSG or Real.
Mbappe’s stance that he doesn’t need a trillion won’t change over time, and PSG are hoping to get him to listen to Al-Hilal’s offer, even as they open the window for negotiations with Real. A drama unlike any other transfer saga in history is being written by the man himself, Mbappe.