‘He knows’: Julien Laurens reveals 25-goal forward is aware Liverpool are not an option | OneFootball

French football pundit Julien Laurens has claimed Kylian Mbappe knows that Liverpool and Real Madrid are unlikely to sign him at the end of the season.

Laurens has revealed that Real and Liverpool are unable to fund a deal for Mbappe without selling a number of first-team players, which is not going to happen in the immediate future.

This leaves Mbappe with a decision to make and Laurens has claimed he can either sign a contract extension with PSG, worth around £30m, or attempt to run down his contract with the French giants before leaving on a free transfer in 2022.

Speaking to ESPN FC, as transcribed by The Express, Laurens outlined Mbappe’s situation heading into the summer window.  “[Mbappe] can extend the contract like PSG have offered him, another four-year deal with a huge pay rise which would take him to around the similar money that Neymar is on.

“We’re talking around €35million (£30.1m) a year, which is a lot of money.

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“He could also not want to extend but he also knows no one can pay for him right now. Not in transfer fee, not in those kinds of wages either.

“Not Real Madrid, not Liverpool, they don’t have that kind of money unless they sell a lot of players, which is not going to be immediate. So he knows that.

“The third option is to run down his contract. PSG won’t be happy, they can’t afford to let him go on a free in the summer 2022 but that could be better for Kylian.”

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

It would take some effort from Liverpool to ship on enough players to free up funds to finance a deal for Mbappe and then be able to go and complete such a complicated deal for the superstar. Given the reported financial impact Covid-19 has had on Liverpool and the real possibility of them missing out on Champions League football, the Reds may not have a huge transfer pot to work with to begin with. This means that, as Laurens explains, Liverpool may not be able to attempt to sign Mbappe this summer.

Laurens has said that Mbappe is aware of this, along with Real’s similar problems, and that could play into his hands, potentially. Knowing that they cannot fund a move for him now, Mbappe could decide to run down his contract and then leave PSG on a free transfer next year. This would alleviate any need for Liverpool, or Real, to pay a gigantic transfer fee to PSG and possibly allow them to bring him in despite their financial issues – as his wages would be their only concern.