Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes the signing of Kylian Mbappe could be ‘imminent’.
It emerged earlier this week that Real Madrid had submitted a €160million offer for PSG star Mbappe, putting into action a plan that has been in the making for years.
The French striker could leave PSG for nothing next summer with his contract set to expire, but Real Madrid are hoping to bag him a year earlier to avoid the risk of missing out next year.
PSG, however, are not interested in Real Madrid‘s current offer, reportedly demanding €220million for their star striker, despite the fact they could lose him for nothing next summer.
But now that the first bid has gone in, former Real Madrid president Calderon believes the deal will get done, regardless of PSG rejecting that initial offer.
“From my experience, the signing is imminent,” he told talkSPORT. “In the moment the two clubs sit down and negotiate for an offer in between, things are clear.
“At times, with things so expensive and so important, you simply have to pay.
“If Real Madrid want Mbappe, they will have to pay that much for him.”
One of PSG’s main concerns is that they still owe money to Monaco for Mbappe, and if they sell the striker or tie him down to a new contract, they would owe their Ligue 1 rivals €35million.
That factor is playing a key role in negotiations, as PSG chief Leonardo has admitted himself.
He said: “It seems like a strategy [from Madrid] to try and get a no from us, to show that they’ve tried everything and then wait a year to get Mbappe on a free.
“Kylian has always promised he wouldn’t leave for free. Madrid’s offer is far from what we want for Kylian. It’s around €160m; less than what we paid for him in 2017.
“We have no plans to talk Madrid again about Mbappe. The deadline is August 31st at midnight. This is how the transfer window is; we keep him and we extend.
“But we’re not going to let him go for less than what we paid when we still owe Monaco money. We never opened the door for Mbappe’s departure. Never. If a player wants to leave, it’s on our terms.”
