Mbappé sets his own asking price
After informing his club that he will not complete the extra year of his contract, Mbappé is in a position to influence negotiations with other clubs, including Real Madrid.
Real Madrid’s transfer plan has taken a swerve with the latest developments in Paris: Kylian Mbappé has informed PSG by letter that he will not activate the clause which would allow him to stay on with the French club until 2025.
That effectively means that his contract will now end in June 2024 so this may be the last summer that PSG can earn a significant fee from selling him. It’s not an entirely new scenario - he was in the same circumstances with his contract about to expire in 2021, but the difference is that this time, according to L’Équipe, PSG would be open to selling him if he does not renew his contract this summer - even though the player wants to spend next season at the Parc des Princes.
Madrid already experienced, as we say, this situation in 2021, and acted accordingly. In the last week of August 2021, they put forward an offer of 160 million euros to PSG for Mabppé, who was entering the final year of his contract. It was a considerable offer to which the French club did not respond, which prompted Madrid to raise it to 200 million, between fixed and variable amounts, but still no answer. Madrid decided to hold their horses and wait for 2022 when the striker would be a free agent, but then Mbappé changed his mind and renewed, breaking his word. Madrid won’t want to be messed around like that again.
This time however, Mbappé has both clubs in his hands. Especially PSG, which would find itself backed into a corner if the player is determined to end up at Real Madrid. PSG always has the option of taking cover in the contract as it did in 2021, hoping to convince the player to reconsider, but throughout 2022, the relationship was pushed to the limit and hasn’t improved since then. Mbappé feels a little betrayed that the club didn’t deliver on their promise of building a successful project around him and his relationship with the fans has been tense since that summer of 2021 when he did everything possible to push through a move to Madrid.
Mbappé sets his own price
Mbappé seems to have found PSG in a more reasonable position ahead of this summer and the fee for which the French club would feel satisfied to receive for him depends to a large extent on the firmness of his decision. If he tells PSG that he will not renew regardless of what happens, Madrid will have more negotiating leeway to find a more suitable price; if the player is in two minds, PSG could repeat the tactic of 2021, reject the offer and hope that an entire season of constant pressure will finally take effect, with a contract upgrade at the end.
As for Madrid, Mbappé doesn’t completely control the situation, but a certain amount of control also exists. The Frenchman has taken a key step by sending a letter to his club, a gesture with which he gives the signal to begin the operation. Now it’s up to Madrid to approach PSG and try to reach an agreement, taking into account that relations between the two entities are not that great - not only because of their dealings Mbappé, but also because of the Super League.
And there would also be the issue of his salary... Madrid has always refused to enter into negotiations for players demanding exorbitant salaries, but they may be forced to dig a little deeper to pay Mbappé what he is worth. Madrid also now have little excuse not to - between the departures of Benzema, Hazard, Asensio and Mariano, they have freed up almost 80 million euros from their wages bill. The player has publicly stated that his intention is to play for PSG next season. But his decision not to renew beyond 2024 leaves the Parisian entity in a delicate situation...