Kylian Mbappe 'sends SOS' to Real Madrid over potential summer transfer
By Tom Gott
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is believed to be desperate to get a move to Real Madrid over the line this summer, but Los Blancos know affording him will be easier said than done.
Real have been plotting to sign Mbappe for years now, waiting until he enters the final year of his contract this summer before swooping in and landing the 22-year-old for a 'cut-price fee' of no more than £200m.
The deal was seen as feasible before the COVID-19 outbreak obliterated Real's finances. They have been left needing to sell numerous fringe players - the likes of Gareth Bale, Marcelo, Isco, Luka Jovic, Brahim Diaz and Dani Ceballos have been mentioned - but according to ABC, even that may not be enough.
Mbappe is believed to be concerned that Real's financial struggles have left them unable to sign him, and it's said that he has reached out to the Spanish side to make sure they are actually going to pursue him in the summer.
Real want to do business with PSG but are aware of the enormous cost of the deal. A fee of £142m is suggested, and Real know offloading those fringe players won't get them that kind of money.
Florentino Perez feels as though he would have to authorise two major departures this summer, and one potential casualty of the situation is winger Vinicius Junior, who just so happens to be wanted by PSG.
PSG have been trailing Vinicius for years and would be open to including him in a swap deal for Mbappe, but the 20-year-old's value is nowhere close to Mbappe's price tag, and therefore another sale must occur.
At the minute, it's not actually known who that player could be, and Real are now scrambling around to gauge the interest levels in some of their other good-but-not-that-good players.
There's also the matter of Mbappe's sizeable wages to figure out. He would want in excess of £16m-a-year for his net salary, which could be freed up by offloading those unwanted players suggested at the very start.
Real are well aware of the issues they face in getting this deal done. PSG are putting pressure on Mbappe to make a decision about his future, and if Los Blancos can't put their money where their mouths are, they might miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime deal.