Reports: Real Madrid suffer huge blow in pursuit of £130 million striker

Zinedine Zidane will not be a happy man

What’s the story?

Kylian Mbappe’s move to UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid might be scuppered, with French club Paris Saint-Germain willing to offer the 18-year-old double the wages the Spanish club had initially put on the table.

Real Madrid had reportedly offered the French youngster £100,000 a week but according to L’Equipe, PSG are willing to double that amount in order to secure the Monaco striker’s services.

Moreover, despite Zinedine Zidane holding a meeting with Mbappe and his father to discuss his role in the Madrid system, Mbappe is still unsure of whether he will be a first-team player at Los Blancos.

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PSG too held talks with Mbappe and his father to thrash out the details of a possible deal. According to the L’Equipe report, the duo were swayed by the massive wages on offer, something Real Madrid are unwilling to offer an 18-year-old.

The heart of the matter

Monaco are keen to keep hold of their star striker and are willing to offer him in the range of £150000 per week. However, the 18-year-old has his heart set on a move away and it remains to be seen whether he is willing to move to Madrid despite not being guaranteed a starting spot. 

Real Madrid are unlikely to drop one of their famed BBC trio to make way for Mbappe, despite Benzema struggling for form and Mbappe scoring 26 goals in 46 appearances last season. 

PSG, on the other hand, are willing to build their team around Mbappe, a prospect he will relish.

What’s next?

Mbappe’s camp want to ensure that the Frenchman is completely in sync with Unai Emery’s style of play before committing to anything. Since Real Madrid are unwilling to match PSG’s £200000-a-week wages for Mbappe, they will probably drop out of the race soon, leaving the door open for possibly Barcelona and Manchester City, two clubs who have shown interest in the youngster in the past. 

Author’s take

While Mbappe would be guaranteed a starting berth at PSG, he should really move to Madrid just to mix it with some of the world’s best in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale et al.