Kylian Mbappe, who is set to leave French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the end of the season, may not be able to join his “dream club” Real Madrid. The reason is none other than his mother.
“Premier League clubs are still in the running to sign Mbappe,” British soccer publication TeamTalk reported on Wednesday. Worrying news has emerged in the negotiations between Mbappe and Real.”
Mbappe has been linked with a move away from PSG to join Real several times over the past few years. With his PSG contract expiring this summer, the ‘Mbappe hunt’ was expected to end in favor of Real. Of course, there were other Premier League clubs who wanted Mbappe, with Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea among those who expressed interest in the player and were willing to enter the fray, but the chances of a deal materializing seemed very slim.
However, Mbappe’s mother could be about to change her son’s destination.
“Mbappe’s mother and agent Faiza Lamari is determined to make her son one of the highest-paid soccer players in the world,” according to TeamTalk, who said that Lamari is not agreeing to Real’s offer at all.
Mbappe himself, however, is happy with Real’s offer. According to TeamTalk, Mbappe is in favor of Real’s offer, but Lamari thinks it’s not enough.
“Although Real are still the frontrunners in the race to sign Mbappe, if they miss out on him, he will be looking to the Premier League,” the publication concludes.
Lamari is very interested in Mbappe’s money. In January, she appeared with her son on the French TV channel France 2’s talk show “Envoi Spécial” and opened up about Mbappe’s financial situation. “If we were offered 10 billion euros, we would sign,” she said at the time, adding, “If that’s the way modern football is structured (with big offers for players), we would accept it.”
At the time, rumors abounded that PSG would offer an even higher salary to retain Mbappe, so it was interpreted that Mbappe’s side indirectly blocked the offer to show that they were unwilling to negotiate with PSG, but this news shows that Lamari is a bit too money-obsessed.
Mbappe currently earns €132 million per year at PSG, including base salary and bonuses. Of that, his basic salary is a whopping €72 million.
That’s almost half of what Real are paying their squad this season. According to Capology, a platform that specializes in soccer finances, Real are paying their entire squad around €290 million this season. If Mbappe were to keep his salary at PSG, Real would be forced to 사설토토 offload a significant portion of their squad. This is because La Liga has a salary cap system that sets a limit on the total salary of each club’s players.
The Premier League, on the other hand, has no such salary cap, which could be a boon for Mbappe’s transfer. In the case of United, they have a new co-owner, James Ratcliffe, the head of British chemicals company Ineos, so they can expect investment. Chelsea also have no shortage of money, having spent a whopping €468.79 million in the summer transfer window to bolster their squad.
Currently, the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and other top clubs are salivating over Mbappe, with the exception of Manchester City, where Mbappe’s rival Elling Holland plays. However, TeamTalk also pointed out that “there are only a few teams that are attracted to Mbappe.”
Chelsea have plenty of money, but they’ve underperformed so badly this season that they may not have Mbappe’s personal favor. Chelsea have been hoping to turn things around under Mauricio Pochettino, who took over the club this offseason, but they are currently languishing in 11th place in the league.
Arsenal also cannot fully satisfy Mbappe’s tastes. “Mikel Arteta is slowly turning Arsenal around and is attracting Mbappe’s attention, but it’s unclear if they can afford his high wages,” according to TeamTalk. Arsenal’s total squad wage bill for this season is €167 million ($239 million), which is roughly the same as Mbappe’s current salary.
Liverpool were reportedly Mbappe’s first choice for a move to the Premier League. However, with current manager Jürgen Klopp reportedly stepping down at the end of the season and the club’s future unclear, Mbappe is skeptical of a move to Liverpool.
Mbappe’s desire to wear the white shirt of the Reds could be in his mother’s way. It’s a case of ‘no parent beats a child’, but with Lamari also acting as his agent, she has a lot of influence over the player. The ending of the Mbappe transfer saga is once again muddled.