Kylian Mbappe is on his way to Real Madrid, reports marca Thursday night. According to the sports newspaper, Paris Saint-Germain will accept the second offer, consisting of 170 million euros plus 10 million euros in bonuses. The move could be officially announced on Friday. Journalist Fabrizio Romano mentioned the offer earlier on Thursday evening and said Real Madrid would probably not come up with a third offer.
Mbappé will play with the national team of France against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday and is expected in Madrid before that game. Earlier on Thursday evening, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said the club’s stance on Mbappe was “clear” and “not changed”. “Everything is still the same. We are not going to change or repeat our position.” Earlier this month, Al-Khelaifi said: “Kylian has said publicly that he wants a competitive team and we can’t do better than this. He has no reason to go anywhere else now.”
Sporting director Leonardo said the first offer of 160 million was rejected because it is “far from what PSG want”. The international media mentioned asking prices of 190 to 215 million euros. It was not ruled out that Mbappe even has to become the most expensive player of all time to leave Paris. That record is held by Neymar, for whom PSG paid 222 million euros in 2017. It seems that Mbappé is going to leave for a lower amount. PSG recognizes that he has a fervent desire to get started at the Santiago Bernabéu and does not see a transfer-free departure in 2022.
“Yes, we turned it down, but we’re not holding anyone back. I cannot confirm any amounts, but the offer is around 160 million euros. The offer is far from what we want for Kylian. We have to hand over part of the amount to AS Monaco and we do not think the current proposal is sufficient,” Leonardo said on Wednesday RMC Sports. Mbappe was taken over from AS Monaco for 180 million euros and has a contract until the summer of 2022, but has refused to extend it for the time being.
“We made two big offers to Kylian: first an equivalent to the highest paid players on the roster two months ago and then one above that very recently. We want to show him that he is an important player, the center of the project, but he is not above the project,” said Leonardo. “It seems Real’s strategy is to get a ‘no’ from us on their offer, so they showed Kylian that they did everything they could to bring him in. Then they can wait another year to get it for free. Real Madrid has been acting like this for two years now. It is unfair and even illegal as they have also contacted the player. It is unacceptable to us because it is not correct.”