August 24, (THEWILL) – While English fans were waiting to see how high Premiership champions Manchester City were ready to go to get Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, in what could break the transfer record they set in this window, Real Madrid have shown what big money transfers mean with a €160 million bid for Kylian Mbappe.
The $188 million offer comes on the heels of the news that Mbappe has so far rejected three contract offers from his Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain with only a year left on his current deal. As the opportunity for a move begins to slim down, PSG are aware that they can lose him for free by next summer.
The French striker’s discontent was not helped by the arrival of Argentine icon Lionel Messi from Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. The smart business therefore for PSG would be to cash in big on a transfer fee this summer rather than wait for 2022 when he could leave for free.
A huge financial outlay as Real have proposed for the 22-year-old is a throwback to times when the club composed of record buys, the most expensive of which was Cristiano Ronaldo’s at the time. It also breaks away from their lethargic transfer business so far in this window.
The Spanish giants have been decidedly inactive in the market since the COVID-19 pandemic hit but their interest in Mbappe has been obvious for a long period this summer. The effect of the pandemic on the club’s finances made it tough to make an initial move for Mbappe but having done some transfer business of their own, they have the might to make it happen.
Real finished off some deals with a pair of English clubs that raised some money for them. Martin Odegaard transferred to Arsenal for £34 million while Raphael Varane headed to Manchester United for exactly the same sum of money. Real then had enough to put in a bid as high as they did for Mbappe so as to convince PSG of their resolve to secure the striker’s signature in time.
As important to the team as Mbappe remains, with two assists in their first two league games and a goal in the third, PSG had one of the best transfer windows of any European club. They were able to bring in Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum, as well as Messi on a free transfer, while only paying for Inter’s Achraf Hakimi.
That quality on paper is a club to be wary of and if manager Mauricio Pochettino can make them all work as a unit with Angel di Maria and Neymar dictating the advance and midfield management, they can afford to let Mbappe leave without being in any immediate danger of becoming a less powerful side for the challenges in the Ligue 1 and in Europe.
It will be to Real’s advantage as they can get a striker to combine with Karim Benzema, who was shouldering most of the scoring responsibilities alone since Ronaldo left to Juventus in Serie A. Plus, there will be French synergy between both of them.
Coincidentally, Ronaldo was also linked with a move to PSG, however, latest reports suggest he is already pushing for a move to English champions Man City.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
