The next team Kylian Mbappe plays for will not be Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 club made this clear this week with the team squeezing Kylian Mbappe from the summer squad and signaling to the rest of football that they intend to sell the French star.
Now, like many other high-profile players before him this summer, Mbappe has become a target for the Saudi Arabian club, according to multiple reports.
Riyadh Crescent, who lost to Major League Soccer Miami International in Messi's draw, offered Mbappe a contract worth 400 million euros ($445.3 million) and paid Paris Saint-Germain 200 million euros ($222 million), according to French journalist Fabrice Hawkins. Paris Saint-Germain will accept the deal if Mbappe does not agree to a contract extension by July 31, Hawkins reported.
Riyadh Crescent is also reportedly willing to let Mbappe leave Real Madrid in 2024, the club he has most associated with in the past few years.
Now, if Paris Saint-Germain accepts, Mbappe can always refuse a move to Saudi Arabia. His contract with Paris Saint-Germain did not expire until next summer, when he said he would leave the club. But Paris Saint-Germain doesn't want Mbappe to leave for free. That is why another club is being looked for before Mbappe's contract expires to transfer him.
But if he joins Riyadh Crescent, he will immediately become the face of the alliance. Frenchman Karim Benzema, along with other stars such as former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo, are already playing in Saudi Arabia, where the country's public wealth fund will reportedly spend billions of dollars to support the country's top soccer league.
Paris Saint-Germain must either find a transfer partner by the summer transfer window closes at 11am Beijing time on September 2, or wait until the winter transfer window opens on January 1, 2024. If they don't move him, there is a report suggesting the club will leave Mbappe idle instead of letting him play and risk worsening the value of the transfer fee in the next window.
Other clubs are likely to pop up to try to catch the winger. Real Madrid is the biggest, most likely name, but Real Madrid also appear to be leading the way in attracting Mbappe if he becomes a free agent next summer. According to Hawkins, Chelsea is another club interested in Mbappe.
Nothing will change unless Mbappe clears, though. So when Paris Saint-Germain plans to pull out, Mbappe will need to decide his immediate fate – or wait a year.
Article source: 68 Sports