Could Kylian Mbappe Be About To Make A Shock Move To The Premier League?
Kylian Mbappe's time at Paris Saint-Germain is coming to an end. But, if the French giants hope to get a transfer fee from his departure, they'll have to move him on this summer in what's already a difficult window.
With Real Madrid already splashing the cash on bringing Jude Bellingham to the club, and Manchester City quite content with Erling Haaland, does this open the door for a surprise move to Manchester United or Liverpool?
With Real Madrid already splashing the cash on bringing Jude Bellingham to the club, and Manchester City quite content with Erling Haaland, does this open the door for a surprise move to Manchester United or Liverpool?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Killian Mbappe and PSG were a marriage made in heaven.
00:07 Sadly though, it was the same sort of heaven that made the marriage of Billy Bob Thornton
00:10 and Angelina Jolie.
00:11 That is to say, it probably seemed like heaven to them, but the rest of the world always
00:15 just looked at it and thought "That's suspicious.
00:23 That's weird."
00:24 Anyone watching this video under 30, by the way, just swap that out for Elon Musk and
00:28 Grimes or something, I don't know.
00:29 Anyway, just like the Payne celebrity metaphor I've opened with, both parties look set
00:33 to undergo a spectacular and messy separation in the very near future.
00:37 Mbappe is entering the last year of his contract and has made it clear he doesn't intend
00:41 to trigger the extension beyond 2024.
00:44 This leaves PSG in a bit of a pickle.
00:47 Their options are sell Mbappe now when the same summer Lionel Messi has left the club
00:51 and receive a huge transfer fee.
00:53 Or keep him for another year with the slim hope that he'll finally deliver the Champions
00:56 League trophy the club so desperately crave, but then likely lose him for nothing whether
01:00 that happens or not.
01:02 Ultimately, though, Mbappe likely has the deciding vote.
01:05 This is where Kylian Mbappe will end up this season.
01:09 So let's look at his options.
01:10 Firstly, stay at PSG for a season and then leave for free.
01:14 Seemingly the most simple option on this list for both PSG and Mbappe.
01:18 Staying at the club for the 23-24 season and then deciding on his future next May or June.
01:23 That will likely involve him leaving on a free, but will fans of the club from the French
01:26 capital really care if they're European champions?
01:30 Probably not.
01:31 Will they be European champions?
01:33 Also probably not.
01:34 In response to La Parisienne on Twitter at the beginning of June, which suggested Mbappe
01:38 wants to join Real Madrid this summer, the 24-year-old tweeted "LIES" in all caps.
01:44 At the same time, the bigger it is, the more it passes.
01:46 I have already said that I will continue next season at PSG, where I am very happy.
01:51 At the same time, Mbappe also sent a statement to news outlet AFP, suggesting that at the
01:55 signing of his bumper contract with PSG in 2022, he informed the club then he wouldn't
02:00 be exercising the option of the extra year.
02:03 That statement read "After having publicly declared in recent weeks that he will be at
02:06 Parisienne next season, Kylian Mbappe did not ask for his departure this summer, but
02:11 merely confirmed to the club that he was not activating his additional year.
02:14 The management of the club in charge of its extension, signed on May 21st, 2022, was informed
02:20 of its decision on July 15th, 2022, and the sole purpose of the email was to confirm what
02:25 had already been orally clarified previously."
02:28 Now while that does make the club's decision to issue a statement implying he wanted to
02:31 leave a very transparent attempt at crisis management, that does still mean, probably,
02:36 that that's that.
02:37 Or is it?
02:38 Option 2 - Real Madrid make a move this summer Having already signed Jude Bellingham for
02:43 £115 million, the prospect of Mbappe becoming available would be an opportunity too difficult
02:48 for Real Madrid to pass up on.
02:50 After attempting to buy him for more than £150 million in 2021, when he had just a
02:55 year remaining on that contract at the time, Los Blancos certainly won't turn their nose
02:59 up at the idea of shattering the transfer record.
03:02 While Mbappe snubbed them last summer in favour of staying in Paris, it seems his main desire
03:06 all along has been to eventually move to the Bernabeu.
03:09 One French outlet, PSG Community, is also suggesting an agreement between the two clubs
03:14 has already been reached, after holding a positive meeting in mid-June, where negotiations
03:19 accelerated.
03:20 The report also stated that PSG owner and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
03:25 and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, have since come to an agreement by "exchanging
03:30 messages".
03:31 Now, I personally read that as they're in a WhatsApp group called "haha beep beep money
03:35 lol" but that's probably just me.
03:37 Mbappe will now reportedly cost more than £200 million, despite having just a year
03:41 remaining on his current deal.
03:43 So that full price depends on performance-based incentives such as Mbappe winning the Ballon
03:47 d'Or and such.
03:48 But the thing is, while that's a hefty price tag, Madrid aren't the only ones who can
03:52 afford it.
03:53 Option three is that the Saudi League gets involved.
03:57 Teams from the Saudi Pro League have increasingly disrupted the transfer market this summer
04:00 and making Mbappe an offer he can't refuse would certainly, how can I put this, turn
04:05 a few heads.
04:07 While a 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo and a 35-year-old Karim Benzema are currently in
04:11 Saudi Arabia earning astronomical fortunes, an offer to any footballer, regardless of
04:16 their age or status, to become the richest sportsman in the world would take some strength
04:21 in turning down.
04:22 On the one hand, Mbappe is only 24, still on the way up in his career and aiming to
04:26 become the greatest footballer in the world, which, frankly, you simply can't be if you're
04:31 playing in the Saudi Pro League.
04:33 But on the other hand, money.
04:36 More money than, like, God.
04:38 Saudi Arabia is one of the few places in world football that can actually afford Mbappe,
04:43 so while this is a move that seems highly unlikely, if he is truly desperate to leave
04:47 PSG, then there's always a possibility of it actually happening.
04:52 And finally, because I'm as curious about this prospect as you are, there's always
04:55 the possibility of the Premier League.
04:58 Aside from Real Madrid and Saudi Arabia, Premier League clubs are the only ones in world football
05:03 capable of affording Mbappe in this transfer window, and even then, there's a very limited
05:08 pool available.
05:09 They include just Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, limiting Mbappe's options
05:14 should he ever wish to play in England's top flight.
05:17 And as much as I would love to include Newcastle United in that list, the levels they currently
05:21 operate at wouldn't put them anywhere near getting that kind of a transfer through FFP.
05:26 So linking up with Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland at City would be absolutely terrifying
05:31 for the rest of the league.
05:32 But with the Spanish manager having just two years remaining on his current deal, and with
05:35 it unlikely Mbappe will want to share the limelight with his Norwegian counterpart,
05:40 that deal feels unlikely.
05:41 Also with the club pursuing other expensive targets and at least wanting to be seen to
05:45 do sensible business under the spotlight of their current investigation, moving now when
05:50 he's possibly available for free next summer would also seem unlikely.
05:54 Manchester United, meanwhile, present a slightly less enticing option for the Frenchman, with
05:58 Eric Ten Haag still in the process of rebuilding the squad at Old Trafford.
06:02 The club still remains one of the most attractive places in the world to play your football,
06:06 but their ongoing ownership issues and lack of clarity over available funds mean this
06:10 isn't likely to be a market they're currently able to shop in.
06:13 As for Chelsea, well… well.
06:17 Recruitment since Todd Boley and co took over last year has left a lot to be desired, but
06:20 signing Mbappe would certainly rectify a multitude of those mistakes.
06:25 However they are currently making massive cuts to their squad to free up space and funds
06:29 for Mauricio Pochettino ahead of his debut campaign.
06:32 While you would certainly make an exception for someone of Mbappe's talent, it might
06:35 not be the smartest move open to them.
06:37 And of course, while I'm certainly not afraid to chuck money at absolutely anything, not
06:42 being able to offer him even a whiff of European football this year might make that a non-starter.
06:47 While nobody knows right now where Kylian Mbappe is going to move, one thing that is
06:51 for certain is that whether it's in this summer transfer window or the next, he is
06:55 going to move.
06:56 And when he does, it's likely to be the biggest transfer in a generation and one that
07:00 could alter the balance of power in whatever league he happens to end up in.
07:04 Add to that the very realistic possibility that if it is next summer, it could well be
07:08 for an outlay of precisely zero, then that is a transfer that every single club in the
07:13 world that's capable of affording his wages is going to want to be a part of.
07:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]