Kylian Mbappe’s future is still a hot topic heading into the final month of the transfer window. Whether he’ll stay at Paris Saint-Germain or leave for Real Madrid is unknown; what is known, according to Diario AS, is that Madrid have €122m set aside specifically to purchase him. Should Martin Odegaard join Arsenal as has been rumoured, Madrid will have an even larger kitty.
Should Odegaard leave for the €50m fee Arsenal are thought to be willing to pay, Madrid will be able to go as high as €150m, but they won’t go higher. If PSG don’t accept that, Madrid’s strategy will shift to waiting for the Frenchman’s contract at the Parc des Princes to expire and then signing him on a free transfer.
PSG, for their part, are hopeful of Mbappe staying put in the French capital. The idea of a front three composed of himself, Neymar and Lionel Messi is certainly tantalising. But Mbappe is determined to be the leader of his own project, not to live in the shadow of both Neymar and Messi. That’s where Madrid come in.
