That makes it impossible for Real Madrid right now
Kylian Mbappe
For the third year in a row, Kylian Mbappe is at the centre of the transfer market, having sent a letter to Paris Saint-Germain to explain that he wants to stay for one more year but that he doesn’t plan to trigger the option to extend his contract beyond 2024.
Mbappe potentially being available this summer was not in the plans of Real Madrid and, for the moment, the French striker is still not part of the programme when it comes to strengthening the team.
At Real Madrid, the thinking is that Mbappe is a footballer who is a prisoner of money.
The problem that Mbappe has found is that the golden cage in which he has lived in the last year has meant giving up big titles and individual awards.
What there is no doubt about is that the striker is the best-paid sportsman in the world by virtue of different concepts that go hand in hand with modern football, such as a signing bonus, contract renewal and whatever else you can imagine and that means a multi-million dollar income for the Frenchman that wouldn’t be the same if he becomes a Real Madrid player one day.
The cost of signing Mbappe
Only Fayza Lamari, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the player himself will only know exactly how much he earns, but MARCA can report that the striker wants 240m euros in the case that he is transferred this summer.
But, at Real Madrid they don’t believe they’ll sign Mbappe this summer and that they’d only get him if he signs his contract after he is able to negotiate from January 1, 2024.
As sources within the club have confirmed to MARCA, Mbappe will not be coming to the Bernabeu this summer.
The doubt lies in knowing if this absence of a major striker in the first-team squad is a temporary one or if another player will arrive.
There are names on the table, but little desire to tackle another operation because, believe it or not, they are still concerned about the financial stability of the club and, in particular, that of the dressing room.
And, at the end of the day, there are no alternatives to Mbappe.