As if there hadn’t been enough shocking news in this monumental summer transfer window, Real Madrid reportedly emerged from its transfer sleep to place a € 160 million ($ 188.1 million) bid for the striker. of Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappé, according to Sky Sports.
The hectic summer has already seen Manchester City break the English transfer record for Jack Grealish and flirt with beating it again for Tottenham’s Harry Kane; Real Madrid deny a return move for Cristiano Ronaldo; and a sombre Barcelona greeted one of the greatest of all time with Lionel Messi’s move to PSG.
And with a week remaining in the summer transfer window, Real Madrid’s offer for Mbappé signals that there may still be plenty of intrigue to come.
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With Mbappé at the start of the final year of his contract and still not convinced to sign a new contract, PSG pulled out all the stops with one of the most impressive transfer windows in recent memory. Having reached the final and semi-finals of the Champions League in the past two seasons, but having failed to clinch the coveted trophy, the French giants have added a slew of proven Champions League winners (Messi, Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum) and growing young talents (Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi) to build a formidable preseason favorite around Mbappé and Neymar.
Since joining PSG on loan from Monaco in 2017 and signed a year later for € 180m, the 22-year-old Parisian has scored 133 goals and 63 assists in 174 games, winning three Ligue 1 titles and a World Cup with France. . Real’s $ 188 million offer for a player with less than a year on his contract is a staggering sum, both for its scale and for Real’s recent financial crisis (and also considering the club can sign Mbappé for a free pre-contract agreement in the winter, which would facilitate a move for next summer).
While Mbappé has often spoken of his affinity for Real Madrid as the fulfillment of a childhood dream, the Los Blancos are currently in tatters. In addition to leaving Ramos, his longtime captain and a club legend, leaving the club on a free transfer to PSG, Real Madrid also sold Raphaël Varane and Martin Ødegaard while former manager Zinedine Zidane left the club after saying that the club no longer gave him, a three-time Champions League winning coach, the confidence he needed to succeed.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have signed only one player, Bayern Munich defender David Alaba on a free transfer this summer for the past two seasons. Sky Sports reports that the club has reported around € 300 million ($ 352 million) in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, while club president Florentino Pérez said the Super League would help resolve its financial situation.
PSG, which has been talking about keeping Mbappé and signing him with a new record contract, reportedly did not respond to Real’s offer, which was presented on Sunday. Regardless, the final week of the transfer window is now shaping up to be the grand finale to a summer filled with fireworks throughout the sport.
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