Real Madrid's long-term plan to lure Kylian Mbappé from PSG
Real Madrid have devised a strategy which they hope will enable them to sign Kylian Mbappé from Paris-Saint Germain in the summer of 2021.
Florentino Pérez has devised a meticulous plan which if successful, will see Kylian Mbappé join Real Madrid in the summer 2021. Luring the 21-year-old from PSG to the Bernabéu is the longest transfer operation Florentino has ever undertaken. In two years' time, Mbappé will have just one year to run on his contract - and that will be the moment when PSG will be obliged to sell him (for a fee of around 150-200 million euros) or let him leave on a free transfer the following summer, in 2022, when his contract expires.
Madrid to use Hazard tactics to get Mbappé
Real Madrid's first task will be making sure they have indirect contact with the player's close circle to persuade the player to not renew terms with PSG. If Mbappé strikes a new deal, his wages would put him out of Real Madrid's reach. But if he doesn't, Madrid will be in with a chance of landing the player. It's a similar strategy to the one Madrid employed to get Eden Hazard, who ended up joining for a relatively reasonable price (100 million euros) for a player of his calibre in an inflated market.
The problem is that recent events could force Mbappé to leave PSG before his contract runs down. His relationship with Tuchel is not what it was (that was evident when the coach took him off in the Montpellier match), and Mbappé is keen to make his mark in football and have a chance of winning the Ballon d'Or. Last summer, he said: “I might be happy in Paris - but maybe I would be just as happy somewhere else, as part of another project”. Since then, Mbappé has been handed two offers to renew with PSG, and rejected both of them.
Real Madrid's previous attempts to sign Mbappé
Mbappé escaped from Madrid's grasp in the summer of 2017. According to Football Leaks, Madrid had agreed to sign the teenager for 214 million euros. The problem was the player's high wage demands - 12 million euros after tax. Meeting that would have disrupted the pay structure at Madrid, where Ramos and Bale are the highest earners (14.5 million euros net). In the end it was PSG who landed the young striker, paying Monaco 180 million euros - a smaller fee because the transfer was between clubs from the same country, whereas Madrid would have been obliged to pay additional taxes to Spanish authorities.
Now Mbappé's wages aren't a problem - he's a world superstar, a World Cup winner and future Ballon d'Or winner. Florentino knows the marketing power Mbappé holds - Forbes calculate that last year, the striker earned a net total of 4 million euros (8 million gross) through publicity alone, and Madrid estimate that he could easily triple that figure if he joins them. Bearing in mind that Madrid share image rights with players 50%, Mbappé could even end up bringing in enough to pay his own wages - especially if he wins the Ballon d'Or.
Real Madrid enjoys an excellent relationship with PSG. Florentino Pérez has always respected the club's owners and has a long-standing friendship with president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Real Madrid have issued statement whenever it has been falsely reported that they have been negotiating with players who are already under contract (such as Neymar and Mbappé). Florentino's plan is different - to let the passage of time draw Mbappé closer to LaLiga. It will be up to Mbappé himself to decide whether to accelerate the process...