MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12: Kylian Mbappe of PSG celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford on February 12, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Why did Kylian Mbappe reject Saudi Pro League transfer? What PSG star’s decision means for Chelsea and Spurs
A transfer saga like no other awaits and a move to the Premier League cannot be ruled out for one of the world’s best players
With a money-spinning move to Saudi Arabia not appealing to him, Kylian Mbappé’s options are endless and limited all at the same time.
Multiple sources have confirmed it’s pretty much set in stone he will move to Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer. Everyone is a winner in such a scenario, all except Paris Saint-Germain. And it’s that fact that leaves a generational talent in a quandary.
Heading to Madrid nets Mbappé a monstrous signing-on fee and a move he has dreamt about since adorning his bedroom wall with posters of Galacticos as a youngster. The problem is, that is 12 months away, and his club are going to do everything in their power to ensure it does not happen.
A transfer saga like no other, therefore, awaits. Clubs around the world are lurking, with nobody completely out of the running. Except the very richest, it seems.
Why did Mbappé reject the Saudi Pro League?
Being the poster boy for the burgeoning Saudi Pro League seemed like the perfect stopgap for all concerned.
PSG receive money, a lot of it, for a player they are adamant will not leave for nothing; the player himself would net £600m in one year, while getting all the lasting support in the Middle East a player of his standing would garner.
But a world record move to Al Hilal is not for Mbappé. On the face of it, it appears he’s taken the higher ground, unlike many other players, and chosen to compete in a competitive league instead.
By staying in Paris, however, he will hardly be fishing down the back of the sofa looking for spare change. He’s already earning over £1m-a-week at PSG, with a generous bonus structure in place on top. Add on the £160m signing-on fee he would receive by seeing out his contract in Paris and moving to Madrid it isn’t a million miles behind the Saudi riches.
In short, to earn record-breaking income in the next year, Mbappé does not need to head to the Middle East.
Can one of the world’s best players really stick it out on the PSG bench?
This is where it gets complicated. Sources have told i that Mbappé is willing to sit on the bench for a year to get his move to Madrid next summer.
PSG threatened to banish him to the dugout after he informed the club, via a public letter, that he would not be taking up the additional year on his contract and would be leaving the French capital on a free in 2024, and not 2025 as the club thought he would be doing.
The club were fully aware that Madrid has always been on their superstar’s radar, so the new contract he penned last year took him to next summer, with an additional year to 2025 expected to be taken up to enable PSG to generate a fee for any departure.
Everything was in place. PSG and Real Madrid could spend the next year negotiating, after the contract extension was formalised, and Mbappé could have another goal-laden season in the capital before representing France at the Euros and in the Paris Olympics before heading to Spain in 2025.
What has transpired, all aired in public, has made their relationship untenable.
Sitting on the bench could have very damaging repercussions. He is already becoming public enemy No 1 among PSG’s notoriously uncompromising ultras. His wider fanbase in the country, in France’s Olympic year, is also dwindling.
The French are not afraid to voice their discontent, like no other in Europe. Seeing one of their best players sit out a season, just to generate a signing-on fee, will not sit well.
His hopes of having any form of lasting legacy in France are in danger of being destroyed forever.
What does this mean for Chelsea and Spurs?
Sources have said Mbappé has always been very “open” to the prospect of moving to the Premier League.
He speaks near-perfect English and, with plenty of interested parties, there is every possibility Mbappé could spend a year on our shores before his Spanish adventure begins.
PSG are so desperate to be rid of this “disruptive” influence, sources said, they are willing to allow him to leave on loan, so long as his astronomical wages are covered.
This has alerted at least three Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham have all made enquiries. With Financial Fair Play restrictions to adhere to, there had not been previous English interest in Mbappé after the 24-year-old publicly revealed his wish to leave Paris last month.
Being able to foot the wages bill and pay upwards of £150m for Mbappé just didn’t seem viable.
With the loan option now on the table, and Mbappé seemingly unwilling to head to the Middle East, such a move is already giving Premier League defenders sleepless nights.
There are other clubs in Europe interested – Inter Milan and Barcelona have also made enquiries, sources said – but if that is the route he chooses to go down, the Premier League wins that race.
Twists and turns aplenty are to come. PSG’s stance is clear – they want shot, now. Mbappé’s plans, however, are less so.
