Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League have submitted a world record bid for Kylian Mbappé. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal have submitted a world record £259m bid to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain.
The French giants want to offload Mbappé this summer after a dispute over his contract. Mbappé has a year left on his current contract and is unwilling to commit to another year as PSG believe he has already agreed to join Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer.
Mbappe was left out of PSG’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea. The Ligue 1 champions are reportedly willing to bench him this season if he fails to secure a move to another club.
“My position is very clear,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. “I don’t want to repeat it every time. If Kylian wants to stay, we want him to stay, but he has to sign a new contract.
“We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, we can’t do that. This is a French club. He said he would never leave for free. If he changes his mind today, it’s not my fault. We don’t want to lose the best player in the world for free, that’s very clear.”
Al Hilal have expressed their intention to sign the 24-year-old by presenting a world-record bid, according to multiple reports. A wage packet is rumored to be £11m-a-week.
The emergence of the Saudi Pro League has sent shock waves across Europe. Al-Hilal is one of four Saudi teams, including Al Ahli, Al Ittihad and Al Nassr, owned 75% by the Public Investment Fund, which are the majority owners of Newcastle United.
Since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in January, the likes of Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad), Roberto Firmino (Al Ahli), N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli) and Marcelo Brozovic (Al Nassr) have moved to the Middle East.
Should Mbappe join Al Hilal, he would become team-mates with Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kalidou Koulibaly, while there are also talks with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Zenit Saint Petersburg striker Malcolm.
Source: Saudi club owned by Newcastle United’s PIF submit stunning world-record Kylian Mbappe bid
