Mbappe stance on €1bn transfer revealed as Barcelona propose swap deal with Man Utd, Liverpool mooted | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe takes part in a pre-season training session.

Barcelona have contacted Paris Saint-Germain over a potential swap deal for Kylian Mbappe amid reports he has no intention of moving to Saudi Arabia this summer.

The France international is the subject of a world-record bid from Al-Hilal with the Saudi Pro League side making a €300m offer to PSG as well as a reported €700m proposal to Mbappe.

It comes after reports that PSG have put the 24-year-old up for sale after becoming convinced that he had already agreed to sign for Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.

PSG are reluctant to lose their biggest asset for nothing in a year and the French club accepted the bid from Al-Hilal.

However, Relevo claim Mbappe has made his transfer stance very clear and has told PSG that he ‘does not want to play’ in Saudi Arabia next season.

A source told the Spanish website: “These things do nothing more than reinforce the determination of the player, who has a one-year contract that cannot be ignored. If he has to stay on the bench, he will stay, we’ll see for how long because the Champions League comes soon… if they win, then all good, but how do you have a player like that in the stands if things don’t go well…”

And now respected French football expert Julien Laurens has backed up this narrative with Mbappe unlikely to be keen on a move to the Middle East.

Laurens told BBC Sport: “I admire the offer, I don’t think he’ll go. It’s not about the money for him, he just wants to win every trophy possible. Right now, at 24 years-old, he does not include the Saudi League.

“We know for example Barcelona yesterday picked up the phone to PSG, and said “we can’t afford any transfer fee for him, we can’t even afford his wages”.

“Kylian Mbappe earns €72m gross a year, but no-one can afford that so he will have to take a pay cut and he’s aware of it, but Barcelona said ‘how about we swap players for Mbappe, who do you want in our squad?’

“Every big club in Europe is going to try to put something together to maybe, firstly, convince PSG to sell to them, and then convince Mbappe to come to them.

“That could be from Man United, to Liverpool, all the English clubs, maybe in Italy as well, but Real Madrid are the favourite because they have the money, that’s where he wants to go. As we’ve been saying before, they’ve been chasing him since he was 11 years-old. But are they ready to pay the €150m that PSG would want, instead of waiting and getting him or nothing in 12 months time?

“Well they don’t want to take the risk that in a years time, and they get into a bidding war. If they sign him now then their team gets a lot better right now.

“Wait if you have the money? It’s just a matter of when, they are the huge favourite to land him this summer.”

And Fabrizio Romano also had an update on Mbappe’s situation and reckons Real Madrid president Florentino Perez “surely has to act” now PSG have put him up for sale.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “As exclusively reported yesterday, Saudi side Al Hilal have submitted a world-record proposal for Kylian Mbappe. If the deal happens it would be the biggest fee ever in football – €300m.

“This is an official bid, not just a verbal bid, and of course it’s unusual to see big offers coming in when a player has just a year left on their contract. Still, in this case it’s the biggest ever in football.

“So what’s going on now? For PSG, it’s very clear: if Mbappe doesn’t extend his contract they are prepared to accept the bid and to let the player go to Saudi. Still, it’s important to clarify that for the moment there are still no conversations between Al Hilal and Mbappe himself – sources still feel that the player wants to continue in Europe.

“Al Hilal would be prepared to pay Mbappe the biggest salary ever in football – more than they offered to Lionel Messi, more than Cristiano Ronaldo earns, and every other player who’s joined a Saudi club or been in negotiations with Saudi clubs.

“Al Hilal are also willing to pay all this even if it only means signing Mbappe for one season and letting him go for free next summer. They want Mbappe now, even if it’s just for one season. Paris Saint-Germain are now waiting for more bids from European clubs, they hope that European clubs can enter into the story and make bids of their own in the next days.

“Still, another important point is that PSG remain convinced, as they’ve always been, that Mbappe has a verbal agreement with Real Madrid for summer 2024. Even if big bids are coming, the feeling is still that Mbappe wants to go to Real Madrid, so Florentino Perez surely has to act. Let’s wait and see what happens.”