One of the signings of next summer is expected to be that of current Paris Saint-Germain striker, Kylian Mbappe, who appears almost certain to leave the French giants.
According to multiple reports, including this one from ESPN, Real Madrid bid €200m for the French World Cup winner’s services, despite the fact that he can leave PSG for free next summer, and that was still turned down in an almighty show of strength by the Ligue Un outfit.
Perhaps Florentino Perez was so keen to ensure Mbappe signed in the most recent window for fear of Los Blancos being gazumped in the transfer market.
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That’s a situation that could well come to pass now, with AS noting that Real’s eternal rivals, Barcelona, are prepared to offer the player a signing on bonus of €90m, which is far in excess of their €50m.
Furthermore, the same report detail that the Catalans would be willing to also offer a higher salary, with it thought that Real wouldn’t go higher than the €17m net per season that they’ve been paying Gareth Bale.
Given that Barca were close to signing Mbappe before plumping for Ousmane Dembele in 2017, per AS, there is a school of thought that Joan Laporta could have a chance of completing such an audacious coup.
Mbappe is a guarantee of goals, and playing alongside Ansu Fati as part of a front three would add a real edge to Barca’s attack.
Although it seems that everything points to Mbappe perhaps heading to the Santiago Bernabeu rather than Camp Nou, MARCA posed the question of money or prestige back in 2017 when Real were pushing hard for his transfer from Monaco.
He took the money on offer at PSG. Will lightning strike twice?
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