Kylian Mbappe has turned down a world record £259 million move to Al-Hilal by refusing to meet with the Saudi club’s delegation.
After agreeing on the amount earlier this week, Paris St Germain granted Al Hilal’s representatives access to discuss the deal with the 24-year-old.
Al Hilal’s representatives have visited in Paris this week, but Mbappe and his entourage have refused to negotiate, despite a wage deal of more than £600 million being offered.
The French champions have put their superstar on the market after he declined to extend his contract at Parc de Princes.
His present contract will expire at the conclusion of next season, at which point he will be free to leave the club, with Real Madrid ready to pounce. PSG is adamant that this will not happen and is aggressively seeking bids for the World Cup winner.
Kylian Mbappe has refused to enter discussions with Al-Hilal, according to reports in France
Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal had a world-record £259m bid for Mbappe accepted by PSG this week (pictured: Al-Hilal president Fahad bin Nafel, right, with new signing Kalidou Koulibaly)
However, the 24-year-old has never considered joining Al-Hilal and has turned down negotiations with the club.
Al Hilal officials came in Paris on Wednesday to finalize the signing of Brazilian winger Malcom from Zenit St Petersburg and to begin negotiations with Mbappe’s teammate, PSG’s Italian international midfielder Marco Verratti.
They had planned, however, to meet with Mbappe’s representatives in order to persuade him to join their project.
Mbappe’s entourage refused to discuss the move with France’s captain at any time.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said that if Mbappe does not agree to a new contract, the club would sell him. Mbappe was left out of the team’s pre-season tour of Japan.
‘My position is very clear,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to repeat it every time: if Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract.
‘We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, we can’t do that. This is a French club. He said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it’s not my fault. We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, that’s very clear.’
Before Al-Hilal’s approach, at least five teams, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham, had reportedly expressed interest in Mbappe.
The current development may rekindle their interest in recruiting him, but rumours have long maintained that Mbappe prefers to join Real Madrid.
It has even been suggested that he might be willing to wait on the bench at PSG this season in order to finish his contract and join Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.
Mbappe is said to be willing to wait on the bench for the entire season in order to complete the final year of his contract with PSG.
According to sources close to PSG, the club anticipates future bids following Al-Hilal’s approach, though they may take longer to shape due to the possibility of a player swap.
Mbappe’s future at PSG has been in serious doubt since it was revealed in June that he will not extend his current contract until 2025, implying that he would become a free agent next summer and be eligible to discuss a pre-contract agreement with another club as early as January of next year.
PSG believe he has already arranged a free transfer to Real Madrid for next summer, with Parisian sources claiming he would receive a £138m signing-on fee if he ended his current contract and moved to Madrid in 2024.
Al Hilal’s involvement might eventually give Mbappe leverage to demand better salary or a larger signing-on fee from Real or any other club interested in him in January.
Mbappe’s transfer dilemma has even piqued the interest of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has pushed the city’s biggest football club to keep its star player at all costs.
On Tuesday morning, Anne Hidalgo, who entered government in 2014, spoke on BFM TV and questioned PSG’s approach.
‘They have the best player in the world and they are willing not to play with him,’ she said. ‘I admit that I don’t understand anything. You have to keep it in Paris.’