Kylian Mbappe has been put up for sale by PSG and left out of their pre-season tour; The France captain has a year left on his contract and is unwilling to sign a new deal; The Ligue 1 champions believe Mbappe plans to join Real Madrid on a free next summer; Tottenham among clubs to make offers
By Kaveh Solhekol, chief reporter for Sky Sports News
12:36, UK, Tuesday 25 July 2023
Paris Saint-Germain have given Kylian Mbappe permission to speak to Al Hilal following the Saudi club’s world-record £259million bid.
The French champions have put Mbappe up for sale and left him out of their squad for the pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea after making it clear they only want to include players who are committed to the club.
Al Hilal’s record-breaking offer is not the only one PSG have received. They have been approached with a mix of offers for Mbappe, including cash plus players, but Al Hilal have shown their intent by submitting the world record bid.
PSG believe at least five clubs are interested in signing Mbappe, with Tottenham among them.
There is already said to be a “hot market” for the France captain, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona interested.
PSG will listen to any and all offers to sell Mbappe and if it was left to the French champions they would just sell him to the highest bidder, although other clubs will struggle to come close to Al Hilal’s offer.
The striker has a year left on his contract and is unwilling to sign a new one, with PSG believed to have already agreed to join Real Madrid on a free next summer.
The 24-year-old will not play for PSG again if he does not extend his contract.
However, Real may now be tempted to make a formal bid for the player to ensure they don’t miss out on him again.
PSG are determined not to lose Mbappe – who reportedly cost more than £150m when he signed from Monaco – for nothing.
Interested clubs have been warned that PSG are even willing to loan Mbappe out for the season.
However, Mbappe is willing to dig his heels in, sit on the sidelines next season and leave for Madrid on a free transfer next summer.
The French forward will receive a £51.6m loyalty bonus if he is still a PSG player on August 1, with his contract stipulating that he must receive the bonus in installments under certain conditions.
PSG insiders are urging Mbappe to talk to Al Hilal, with the Parisians seeing a move to Saudi Arabia as a win-win for all parties, especially if the player moves for just one season.
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains why multiple parties could benefit from the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga
Mbappe would get his PSG loyalty bonus, Al Hilal signing-on fee and massive wages, as well as a “free transfer” move to Madrid next summer, where he would command a €160m signing-on fee. GBP plus more massive wages.
Meanwhile, PSG would get some return on their investment in the player and the Mbappe saga would end, while Madrid would get the player they want next summer as planned on a free transfer.
In addition, Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia would get one of the best players in the world, albeit for just one season.
Analysis: Will Mbappe be convinced to move to Saudi Arabia?
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“It’s all well and good that the club is 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 that Mbappe is interested in moving to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career.
“A lot of people say, ‘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 the PIF are the same people who have actually just bought golf. They’ve just bought a whole sport, basically.
PSG captain Marquinhos has called on the club’s board to resolve his dispute with Mbappe, which has seen the star player put up for sale
“These are the same people who offered Tiger Woods $700 million to join the LIV Golf tour. If they can afford to spend $700 million on Tiger Woods, who is past his prime and nearing the end of his career, why wouldn’t they throw huge sums at Kylian Mbappe, who many people would say is the best player in the world at the moment.
“There are some unbelievable numbers flying around. Some American outlets are reporting that Al Hilal are offering Mbappe something like €700m for a season and saying he can then go and move to Real Madrid. That’s not something I’ve seen. All I know for sure is that this offer was made from Al Hilal to PSG on Saturday for €300m.”
Saudi Mbappe interest was ‘inevitable’
French football expert Jonathan Johnson:
“I think we can probably classify this as being the best case scenario for PSG, potentially receiving a world record transfer fee from a club that could potentially offer Mbappe a lucrative amount over a short period of time – which would not necessarily put any obstacles when it comes to his future desire to also play for Real Madrid.
“The fact that it would be a relatively short-term deal for someone like Kylian Mbappe is actually far more appealing than if it was a three- or four-year contract.
“I think it was inevitable at some point that Saudi Arabia would throw its hat in the ring and at least make an attempt to try and prize Kylian Mbappe away from PSG, especially given the way the situation has deteriorated, certainly over the last few days.
“PSG will accept this offer if the offer is firm and there is an indication that Kylian Mbappe would at least consider negotiating personal terms and hearing about this eye-catching proposal that Saudi Arabia might make.”
France’s players’ union threatens PSG with legal action
France’s players’ union has accused PSG of moral harassment by Mbappe and threatened the club with legal action to protect the striker’s rights.
A statement from the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionels (UNFP) said: “These players – all of them – must enjoy the same working conditions as the rest of the professional workforce.
“The UNFP believes that it would be useful to remind managers that putting pressure on an employee – for example through the deterioration of their working conditions – to force them to leave or accept what the employer wants constitutes moral harassment, which French law strongly condemns.
“So, yes, the UNFP reserves the right to take civil and criminal action against any club that behaves in this way.”
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