Real Madrid are reportedly eyeing a sensational a deal for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe due to Lionel Messi’s imminent arrival in France.
PSG are close to sealing the free transfer of Messi on a two-year deal worth around £70million, following the Argentina star’s shock departure from Barcelona last week.
The move will see Messi link up with former Barcelona team-mate Neymar at PSG, but the future of Mbappe remains in doubt with the French forward having just one year left on his contract in the French capital.
And according to AS, Real sense an opportunity to try and prise Mbappe from Paris because PSG cannot afford to build a side with Neymar, Messi and the Frenchman in their attack due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The report also says the Spanish side are yet to make an offer for Mbappe but president Florentino Perez is set to change his stance from trying not to offend or provoke PSG, to making an approach.
The French side, who have already signed £60m defender Achraf Hakimi plus Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma on free transfers, reportedly need to sell around £150m worth of talent this summer to respect UEFA’s rules regarding FFP.
Real, meanwhile, are said to have around £100m to spend in this transfer window, while they could also sell the likes of Martin Odegaard and Luka Jovic to raise more funds.
PSG have remained confident that they can keep Mbappe at the club beyond his current contract expiration date in June 2022, but the imminent arrival of Messi could change their stance.
Mbappe revealed before his Euro 2020 campaign with France, which saw him miss a penalty in the last-16 shootout defeat by Switzerland, that he was undecided on his future.
When asked about his next move at the start of June, the 22-year-old said: ‘I don’t necessarily need to go fast. I have to make the right decision, which is difficult, and give myself every chance to make up my mind.
I am in a place where I like myself, where I feel good. But is this the best place for me? I don’t have the answer yet.
I know that a project with or without me is not quite the same for the club. But PSG understand my feelings. Probably also because they knows that I will not sneak.’
Meanwhile, new PSG defender Ramos – who moved on a free transfer from Real Madrid earlier this summer – revealed he wants Mbappe to stay in the French capital, though maintained he needs to join Real one day.
Ramos told AS this month: ‘Madrid is one of the best clubs in the world. On a historical level, the best. For me, great players have to go through there. But now I want him (Mbappe) on my team. I want to win and for that I want the best to be by my side.
‘Advice on a personal level I could never give. I could tell him something from experience, but I would do it in private.
‘As a PSG player, I would like him to stay. I like to play with the best and Mbappe is one of them.’
