Paris Saint-Germain have offered Kylian Mbappe a contract that amounts to €100m (£83.2m) a year, in what would be the biggest individual player deal football has ever seen. Real Madrid are naturally aware of this, as well as the fact they can’t currently get anywhere close to such an offer. The Spanish club have consequently attempted to play on other motivations. Mbappe’s camp have been told he may be giving up the chance to ever turn out for Europe’s “greatest football institution”, as Madrid have pointed to their history, as well as their potential future.
That future may well bring offers of that magnitude if Florentino Perez has his way. The Madrid president is newly bullish about his European Super League, and its potential rewards. Given how entrenched Paris Saint-Germain have become in the European establishment, with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi having used the last Super League debacle to strengthen his own position, the situation adds even greater edge to Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg. It is possible that the shame of elimination to PSG could further fire Perez. Uefa’s perceived failure in tackling the state-owned clubs is already a significant motivation behind the project. A new momentum has built.
