PSG rejects Madrid offer for Mbappé but is open to negotiate
MADRID, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid is seeking a record-breaking deal for Paris Saint-Germain
star Kylian Mbappé, but PSG seems to be holding out for a higher offer.
PSG sports director Leonardo said on Wednesday that the French club has rejected a $188 million bid
from Real Madrid, but that the team is ready to negotiate.
The first Madrid bid is below what PSG anticipated, Leonardo told French radio RMC Sport and other media sites.
He said that the club would not hold Mbappé back if he wants to go
but that any trade must be done on the club’s terms.
“It seems obvious to me that Kylian Mbappé wants to leave,” Leonardo remarked. “It seems obvious if Real Madrid makes a bid.
I’m presenting a viewpoint that I believe is obvious to everyone.
We can’t alter our minds in the last week of the transfer window.
We won’t hold him if he wants to go, but only if he agrees to our terms.”
It was the first time PSG publicly said that Mbappé wants to quit the club.
The club has said that he is not for sale and that it wants to extend his contract, but his present contract expires
this season, and if an offer is not accepted immediately, the club may wind up receiving nothing for him.
Mbappé told the club that he would never leave for free, according to him.
PSG had previously verbally rejected the first Madrid offer of “about” 160 million euros ($188 million), according to Leonardo, which had been widely publicized in Spain and France.
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The offer, he added, was “far distant from what Kylian represents right now.”
Leonard said, “It’s less than what we spent for him.” “However, it is the way in which Real Madrid is going about it that irritates us.”
Madrid has neither acknowledged nor denied making a bid for the 22-year-old France international, who joined PSG from Monaco in 2017 for 180 million euros ($211 million).
It was reportedly Madrid’s first bid for Mbappé, which has been a long-term goal for the Spanish giant.
In recent years, Leonard has accused Madrid of “not being right” regarding PSG, including “illegally” contacting the player’s agents and family members.
“It seems that this is a plan by Madrid to hear a ‘no’ from us but demonstrate that it did everything to get him now, then wait until next year to acquire him for free,” Leonardo added.
Mbappé has never denied his desire to play for Real Madrid
and president Florentino Pérez has openly stated the club’s interest in him in the past.
Mbappé, who has yet to comment publicly on the Madrid offer, lately seemed reluctant to sign a new contract with PSG, knowing that he would be free next year.
Following Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona to PSG, speculation about a potential transfer grew, with some at the Catalan club accusing Pérez of working behind the scenes to bring Messi to France in order to facilitate Mbappé’s arrival at Real Madrid.
Pérez has denied having anything to do with Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona.
He complimented Mbappé earlier this year and suggested Madrid
supporters should “calmly” await fresh developments about his potential move to the Spanish capital.
Since buying Eden Hazard from Chelsea for 100 million euros (now $117 million) plus add-ons in 2019
the Spanish club has not spent much on new players.
Despite losses due to the coronavirus epidemic and the reconstruction of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium,
Madrid’s present financial situation would theoretically enable Mbappé to join the club.
If the move goes through, PSG will have to pay Monaco a portion of the transfer price as part of their 2017 agreement.
PSG rejects Madrid offer for Mbappé but is open to negotiate
