Reports: €120 million striker rejects Manchester City, wants to play only for Real Madrid
What’s the story?
Manchester City are undergoing a squad overhaul of sorts this summer. They have already let go of 5 first-team members namely Jesus Navas, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Willy Caballero and have also completed the £43m signing of AS Monaco star Bernardo Silva.
Pep Guardiola’s side finished 3rd in the Premier League last season and the Spaniard has been provided a €300m transfer kitty to beef up the squad to challenge for top honours next season. However, according to Spanish outlet Marca, Guardiola is set to miss out on his #1 target Kylian Mbappe as the French sensation is only interested in a move to Real Madrid.
The 18-year-old has not made up his mind whether he wants to stay at the Ligue 1 champions for another season or not but he is clear about one thing that he only wants to move to Los Blancos.
In case you didn’t know…
Mbappe has seen his stocks sky-rocket this season, having scored 26 goals along with 14 assists in 44 games for Monaco this season, helping the Stade Luis II side to reach the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League while also helping them put an end to Paris Saint-Germain’s monopoly in Ligue 1.
The heart of the matter
AS Monaco owner Dmitri Rybolovlev is open to the idea of selling their superstars at the right-price as has been evident by their sale of Bernardo Silva to the Etihad Outfit. The clearout of 5 first-team members has helped free up the wage bill at City and Guardiola was hoping to land one of Europe’s most coveted youngsters in Mbappe but the Frenchman doesn’t want to join any other outfit apart from Real Madrid.
According to the report, Mbappe wants to work under Zinedine Zidane and if and when a deal does come to fruition it will cost Los Blancos €120 million.
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Author's Take
Mbappe has an exceptionally bright future ahead of him and he should not rush into any decision. The lure of the Santiago Bernabeu is one that not many can turn down but at 18 years of age the world is ahead of him. He should stay at Monaco for another couple of seasons to continue his development under Leonardo Jardim, while it also allows him to get regular first-team football, which will not be guaranteed at Real Madrid.
Apart from that, players have to face a lot of criticism if they tune in a poor performance in the Whites of Real Madrid and if Mbappe is subjected to the same, it may not be the best for him given his tender age. He has already shown the world what he is capable of and he should improve his game at Stade Louis II, away from the demanding life in Madrid.