Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia has made a record-breaking offer for Kylian Mbappé, thought to be worth €300 million (£259 million), and is prepared to only keep the forward for one season if that is what it takes to close the deal.
The action was taken after Paris Saint-Germain decided to sell Mbappé and left him out of their squad for their preseason tour of Japan. Al-Hilal’s bid will be accepted by PSG, but no discussions have taken place between the two parties, and PSG is still of the opinion that Mbappé, 24, has already agreed to terms to join Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.
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Al-Hilal will attempt to entice Mbappé with a world-record wage and are open to a deal that, even by recent Saudi Pro League standards, would shatter football’s financial norms. However, they are aware that it may be in his best interest to stay for only one season. Lionel Messi was promised more than £350 million a year by Al-Hilal to leave PSG, but the Argentina forward decided to join Inter Miami instead.
In June, it came to light that Mbappé had given PSG a formal letter stating he would not exercise his right to a one-year contract extension the following summer. Nasser al-Khelaifi, the club’s president, stated earlier in the month: “If Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. However, he must consent to a new contract. We can’t afford to lose the finest player in the world for nothing.” For £166 million, Mbappé moved from Monaco to PSG in 2018.
Clubs in the Saudi Pro League have spent a lot of money this summer bringing in players from Europe. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns Newcastle United to a large extent and is one of four teams in the nation, has signed Rben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Kalidou Koulibaly for Al-Hilal. Additionally, they are nearing completion on agreements to purchase the forwards Malcom and Aleksandar Mitrovic from Fulham and Zenit St. Petersburg, respectively.
Before deciding to extend his contract in Paris last summer, Mbappé appeared to be close to joining Real Madrid. The world-record price paid by Barcelona to PSG for Neymar in 2017 was €222 million. The forward from Brazil’s contract is set to end in June 2025.
