12 September 2023 , 09:21
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Real Madrid look set to beat Manchester United to the signing of Kylian Mbappe with a £200m move.
The Frenchman looks set to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season at the very least, with his contract due to expire. He has less than a year left on his deal in the French capital.
Mbappe looked sure to depart this summer having refused to commit his future to PSG, before he was then left out of the club’s pre-season tour. The 24-year-old was also banished from first-team training but has since been welcomed back, whilst club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has hinted that a new contract could be on the cards.
A number of clubs have been linked with a move for his signature including Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United. Real Madrid appear to be the best positioned to sign him having had previous bids of £172m turned down for his services and they are now reportedly considering stepping up their efforts to take him to the Santiago Bernabeu.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, they intend on moving for Mbappe on a free transfer. They will apparently attempt to reach a pre-contract agreement with the striker in January.
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It is said that Los Blancos have set aside around £200m in the form of wages and a signing-on bonus that they will offer Mbappe to convince him to move to the Spanish capital. It is also said that they have left the club’s famed number nine shirt free for the Frenchman.
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Despite there being optimism over a deal, Real are said to be not taking anything for granted. President Florentino Perez was left furious as Mbappe backtracked 12 months ago on a move to pen a new contract with PSG.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal also revealed that he was convinced Mbappe was on his way to Spain earlier this summer. Speaking to Sergio Santos, he said: “I thought he was coming. At the moment he did not travel to the Japan tour.
“At the moment when he was out of the tour, we saw his signing close. Then it seems that everything twisted a little and did not come. Let’s see… He’s one of the best and the best have to play for Real Madrid.”
Amid Real Madrid’s intentions, they could potentially face more competition from Saudi Arabia. Al-Hilal had a big-money bid accepted by PSG in the summer window only for Mbappe to turn down talks over a move to the Gulf state.
It remains to be seen whether there is a renewed effort to convince Mbappe to switch to Saudi over the coming months. In the meantime, the 2018 World Cup winner has been in brilliant form for PSG since his return to contention for the first team.
He has five goals in just three Ligue 1 outings - a record that includes braces in each of his last two appearances. Mbappe will hope to extend that excellent record later this week as PSG resume their title defence against Nice on Friday evening.