Paris Saint-Germain is convinced their famed striker only wants to sign for Real Madrid.
French superstar star Kylian Mbappe has rejected Al-Hilal’s world-record offer to play in Saudi Arabia for one year, according to reports by prominent sports journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Despite the Al Hilal delegation flying to Paris to meet with Mbappe, the footballer has reportedly declined to negotiate with the Saudi club, saying no to the proposed salary of a now $221 million pay deal that was initially reported $775mn.
Despite being far lower than previous reports, the $221 million offer from Al-Hilal would be the current largest annual salary in football, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract of $214 million earned from Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.
Romano now said the 24-year-old has no intention to open talks despite the immense cash flowing from the Saudis.
“Despite Al Hilal delegation flying to Paris, Kylian Mbappé has rejected to negotiate with Al Hilal,” wrote Romano. “Mbappé has currently no intention to open talks despite €200m fixed salary proposal plus 100% image rights.”
The proposed deal for the famed star by Saudi Arabia’s most successful club comes after PSG’s dropping of Mbappe for a pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea triggered news that the club had issued him an ultimatum to sign a new contract or be sold.
Al-Hilal missed out on former PSG star Lionel Messi, who joined Inter Miami after two years at PSG. Now, the reality for PSG is grim as it appears that their greatest star won’t be in action and will watch the season from the stands.
By reportedly rejecting Al-Hilal, Mbappe seems unmotivated by money and prefers to position himself at an elite club such as Real Madrid.
In June of this year, Madrid President Florentino Perez revealed the goal is to sign Mbappe in the following season.
In a video shared online, Perez was asked if he would sign the French wonderboy anytime soon, to which he replied, “Yes, but not this year.”
The LaLiga team has spent $142m this summer thanks to signing Jude Bellingham for $114 from Borussia Dortmund and Arda Guler for $22 million as well as academy players Fran Garcia for $5m and Joselu for a loan fee of $500,000.
The splash of cash by Madrid puts the club as having spent more this summer than all the division’s other 19 clubs put together. For this reason, purchasing Mbappe seems nearly impossible, especially as the club is also remodelling the Bernabeu stadium for a billion dollars.
