Real Madrid are confident that Kylian Mbappe is willing to take the necessary pay-cut to join them, after Le Parisien reported he had told Paris Saint Germain he will not be staying with them beyond the end of this season.
But the feeling is that he has grown tired of playing in the French league, currently struggling to raise offers for a new television deal, and that Madrid is his preferred destination.
PSG have denied the player has told them he has decided his future but it’s an open secret he has shown no interest in negotiating a new deal beyond the end of this season when his contract runs out.
Madrid have changed tactics regarding landing the World Cup winner largely because of the progression of Vinicius and the spectacular first season of Jude Bellingham. If Mbappe signs he will have to fit into a club that already has two global superstars to take it into the next 10 years.
Real Madrid are confident Kylian Mbappe will take the necessary pay cut to join them from PSG
Carlo Ancelotti finally appears to be closing in on the superstar striker ahead of the summer
Madrid’s top earners heading into next season are Jude Bellingham (left) and Vinicius Jr (right)
But the decision to walk away from PSG tells Madrid he is willing to negotiate his switch to Spain.
The Spanish club remain adamant they will not smash their current wage structure to pay him the 25m euros net he earns in Paris.
Madrid’s top earners going into next season will be Vinicius and Bellingham on deals that see them clear closer to 12m euros with incremental rises factored into their contracts in the coming seasons.
But the club could still offer the player’s mother Fayza Lamari a contract that will make her son Madrid’s top earner. And there are various means of boosting his earning in Spain without putting him on a salary that would double what Bellingham and Vinicius earn.
A signing on fee of around 100m euros would compensate Mbappe having to lower his basic salary, and more than cancel out the so-called ‘loyalty’ bonus he will lose as he leaves PSG.
A compromise could also be worked out regards his image rights.
It is an open secret that Mbappe has shown no desire to sign a new contract with PSG
Madrid could offer Mbappe’s mother, Fayza Lamari (left), terms that make him their top earner
Mbappe’s arrival now seems closer than at any time since Madrid’s pursuit began back in 2017
The club usually take 50 per cent of their top signings’ image rights but reports of those close to Real Madrid suggest the club could allow Mbappe a 60-40 split in his favour to further sweeten the pill of him walking away from the bottomless pit of money he’s been paid from in France.
Madrid are not without their financial restrictions. Last November at the club’s general assembly they requested the members’ permission to borrow a further 300m euros to complete the stadium, taking their borrowing for the project to 1.17bn euros.
And it was only three years ago that president Florentino Perez was declaring that clubs needed a new European Super League because without it they would be ‘dead by 2024’.
But with the new stadium set to be 100 per cent completed this year, it should generate revenue that more than doubles the club’s repayments on their loans to build it.
So while their more optimistic supporters say they will not believe it until they see it – Mbappe’s arrival now seems closer than at any time since Madrid started their pursuit of him in 2017.
