• Monaco deny agreement for 18-year-old forward has been reached
• Mbappé would join on a six-year deal worth around €7m a season
Dimapur, July 25 (EMN): Spanish giants, Real Madrid are reportedly on the verge of smashing the transfer world record for the 18-year-old France striker Kylian Mbappé, after the club was reported as reaching the basis of an agreement with French club Monaco.
According to the Madrid-based Marca – the highest selling sports daily in Spain – Real Madrid are ready to loosen their purse-strings for the French teen that would allow the striker’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu for a total fee of €180m (£161m).
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Kylian Mbappé[/caption]
Monaco, though, have denied that they have agreed to the deal. However, the paper on Tuesday reported that the two clubs have agreed, in principle, a deal worth €160m plus a further €20m in objectives.
Despite Monaco denying the report to a French newspaper, the Marca cited sources from the Spanish club insisting they are optimistic that a definitive deal was close. Mbappé would join on a six-year deal worth around €7m a year, it reported.
Madrid have raised over €100m in sales this summer, with Álvaro Morata joining Chelsea and Danilo signing for Manchester City, while James Rodríguez has gone to Bayern Munich on loan. If the deal is finalised, it would mean that Monaco, who reached last year’s Champions League semi-final and won the French title, have made more than £300m in transfers.
Among the 13 players who have already departed are Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy who joined City for £43.6m and £52m respectively, and Tiemoué Bakayoko, who cost Chelsea £39.7m,
Zinedine Zidane admitted that he was a striker short following Morata’s departure, only to insist the next day that he was not requesting any signings. He did, though, add: “Anything can happen between now and 31 August”.
It is not so much Morata’s departure that made Mbappé a target though; indeed, Morata’s determination to depart was based, in part, on the belief that not only did he have Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema ahead of him but that a move for the Monaco striker would follow. Florentino Pérez, the Madrid president, has made little secret of his liking for the Frenchman.
Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Arsenal had all expressed an interest in the player, whose father has been handling negotiations. Although Mbappé’s preference was Real Madrid, the club he supports, there were doubts about the opportunities he would be given at the Bernabéu, despite assurances that he will play. He had been told that there would be departures that would facilitate his involvement as they sought to convince him.
