The next team for which Kylian Mbappé will play will not be Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 club made that clear this week when the team left Mbappe out of summer training and signaled to the rest of the footballing world their intention to leave the French star.
And now, like so many other top players before him this summer, Mbappé has been targeted by a Saudi club, according to multiple reports.
Al-Hilal, who lost Lionel Messi’s draw to MLS’s Inter Miami, has reportedly offered Mbappé a 400 million euro (about $445.3 million) contract and will pay 200 million euros (about $222.5 million) to PSG, per French journalist Fabrice Hawkins. Al-Hilal is also said to be open to letting Mbappé leave for Real Madrid in 2024, the club he has been most linked with for several years.
From now on, Mbappé could always refuse the transfer to Saudi Arabia if he were accepted by PSG. He is still under contract with PSG until next summer when he announced his intention to leave the club. But PSG do not want Mbappé to leave for free. That’s why they are trying to find another club to transfer Mbappé before the end of his contract.
But if he joined Al-Hilal, he would immediately become the face of the league. Other stars like fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema and former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo are already playing in Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom’s Public Wealth Fund is reportedly spending billions to support the country’s top soccer league.
PSG have until the end of the summer transfer window at 11 p.m. on September 1 to find a partner before having to wait until the winter window opens on January 1, 2024. If they don’t, a report from ESPNFC says the club will sit Mbappé rather than play him and risk compounding the value of their transfer fee for the next window.
More than likely, other clubs will come out of the woods to try to snag the French winger. Real Madrid are the bigger and more likely name, but they also seem to be in the lead to woo Mbappé if and when he becomes a free agent next summer. Chelsea would be another club interested in Mbappé, by Hawkins.
Nothing will change unless Mbappé erases it, however. So, as PSG plan their exit, it’s up to the French star to decide his own immediate fate – or wait a year.