REAL MADRID
Real Madrid have the money ready to sign Kylian Mbappé from PSG
Real Madrid have presented their accounts for the 2022-23 season and one thing is clear: the Mbappé money is real and ready to go.
Real Madrid continue to keep tabs on Kylian Mbappé's situation from the sidelines. PSG told the Frenchman that he had to renew his contract, which currently ends in June 2024, or depart, in order to prevent him from walking away for free in a year.
Nasser Al Khelaïfi himself, president of PSG, proposed an ultimatum of “two or three weeks” to Mbappé, although L’Èquipe later stated that the true deadline is July 31. But Mbappé himself did not take the hint: on Monday he joined up with Luis Enrique’s PSG and has once again made clear that his wish is to stay and complete his remaining year on his current deal.
However, a key date is drawing closer and closer: on August 1, Mbappé will stand to collect €40 million of the €80 million ($90 million) loyalty bonus that he has written into his contract; it is assumed that once Mbappé receives the money, the state of play will finally change. There is also Real Madrid, who know that taking the situation until the last week of the market does them a favour in reducing the amounts of money involved.
PSG want a record amount (right now the record stands at €222 million that the French club paid for Neymar to bring him from Barcelona) and Mbappé does not want to give up his loyalty bonus. In total, the deal would sit at somewhere around the €400 million mark, which is something the Spanish club want to avoid. But not because they don’t have the money to do so...
Real Madrid say they are ‘comfortable’ in terms of finances
On Monday 17 July, the club presented the summary of their accounts for the 2022-23 season, an outline of what will be explained in the Members’ Assembly, which is usually held between October and November, depending on the year. The summary is encouraging for those who think that Madrid should cut their losses and present a formal offer for Mbappé to ensure his signing now: revenues have grown to €843 million (exceeding by income prior to the Covid-19 pandemic for the first time); the year closed with a small profit of €11.8 million and, most importantly, the treasury, as of June 30, stood at €128.2 million.
Added to the €128.2 million in the club’s coffers we must take into account different lines of credit that could be brought in. in total, the “undrawn credit facilities [amount] to €265 million. These financial availabilities allow the Club to comfortably meet its expected payment commitment.”
The transfer of Mbappé is not (yet) included among those “commitments”, but it is clear that there is ammunition if the time does arrive to enter that particular battle: there is €393 million, between the treasury and the credit lines, available to Madrid: that is almost €400 million to go after what would be a historic deal.
Real Madrid criticise the transfer market
Madrid themselves, in their statement, refer to the strange moment that the transfer market is currently experiencing: “In the case of player transfers, it is more difficult to carry out significant transfer operations, both because of the huge losses incurred by most European clubs due to Covid-19 and because of the evolution of the dynamics of the transfer market itself, with an increasing number of players finishing their contracts without being transferred”.
References were made by Madrid regarding the difficulty they encountered in selling players like Asensio, Hazard or Mariano, although both Alaba and Rüdiger arrived along the same route, and Mbappé almost did the same a year ago.
Are Real Madrid in financial trouble?
The preliminary report portrays a Madrid in solid economic health: they have surpassed €800 million in revenue for the first time and are soon going to be experiencing a further uptick in finances with the near-completion Santiago Bernabéu stadium renovation project.
Revenue from the stadium is still low, given the building work (13% less than in the 2018-19 campaign) causing a reduction in available seat numbers. But the forecast is that the renovation process will be finished by the end of 2023 and then, from January 2024, new lines of business will boost the club’s income. Despite this positive step, the stadium will not be at its full capacity until the 2024-25 season, which will be the first year in which the new Bernabéu will be ready to go from the off.
The repayment of the €800 million loan that has been requested to carry out the work should not be an obstacle for Madrid to go to the market with confidence levels high: they have already received the entire loan and will begin to repay it next July, with a first repayment instalment of €34 million.
