PSG 'laughed at' by rival over Kylian Mbappe price tag as transfer saga drags on

23 August 2023 , 12:15

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PSG 'laughed at' by rival over Kylian Mbappe price tag as transfer saga drags on

Real Madrid have laughed at Paris Saint-Germain's £213million asking price for Kylian Mbappe, whose transfer saga continues to drag on.

Mbappe, 24, was put up for sale by PSG earlier this summer after refusing to sign a contract extension, having entered the final year of his current deal. After being snubbed from Luis Enrique's pre-season tour squad and missing PSG's opening Ligue 1 fixture, the French superstar is now back in action with a looming question mark over his future, nine days out from the transfer window closing.

Real's interest in Mbappe over the past few years has led to bitterness between the two European heavyweights, and now more fuel has been added to the fire. According to El Debate, Madrid chiefs have scoffed at PSG's £213m (€250m) price tag and made it clear that they won't go higher than £149m (€175m) for a player in the last 10 months of his contract.

It's noted in the report that Real are willing to drop their interest in Mbappe altogether if they're unable to strike a deal before the summer 2024 window. Mbappe rejected a move to Madrid last year in order to sign what was billed as a new three-year deal with PSG. In reality, the contract was only valid until 2024 and the France international had to agree to sign an extension.

Earlier this summer, Mbappe informed the PSG hierarchy that he wouldn't be extending his deal which left club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi furious. But prior to watching his team draw their first game of the season 1-1 at home to Lorient, the 24-year-old held talks with Al-Khelaifi, who soon confirmed: "Kylian is committed to PSG. Kylian is back"

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Have your say! How much should Kylian Mbappe be worth? Join the debate in the comments section.

Kylian Mbappe was back in action for Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday and scored against Toulouse (Bagu Blanco / Pressinphoto / Icon Sport)

Announcing his return to the squad ahead of last Saturday's trip to Toulouse, PSG wrote on on social media: "Following very constructive and positive discussions between Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient game, the player has been reinstated into the first-team training squad this morning."

After being brought on as a second-half substitute, Mbappe emphatically scored a penalty to make it 1-0 before Toulouse's late equaliser. While celebrating his goal, the forward appeared to tell fans: "I am staying here, I am staying here!"

Luis Enrique says that Mbappe is in a "good state of mind" following his return to the first-team, having trained with a group nicknamed 'the undesirables' throughout the summer. "Kylian is perfect from what I saw in training," the Spaniard, who replaced Christophe Galtier in the Parc des Princes dugout, declared. "He has a lot of desire and and is in a very good state of mind. I'm very happy to have a world-class player like Kylian'"

Nathan Ridley