Kylian Mbappé wants to leave, Nasser al-Khelaïfi opens the door, but at what price?

Will the club of the capital and especially its president take this course of action? Only the future will tell. In the past, it has happened on many occasions that individuals bend the knee to the institution. Still, if the message sent to the player is strong, that sent to the transfer market is just as strong. While Paris has done everything possible to keep the Bondynois in recent seasons, even if it means rolling out the red carpet for him, this time it’s different: he’s two weeks away from being for sale.

Even more expensive than two years ago?

In its columns, the Madrid media AS ensures that the PSG claims 200 million euros. Just that. More than the 170 million, plus 10 in bonuses, urgently offered by the White House in the summer of 2021. Before Paris goes all-in and explodes its payroll, which is saying something when Qatar acts as piggy bank, to extend the captain of the Blues for two years.

At this price, not sure that a club is tempted. Firstly because very few in Europe have the necessary funds. Then, if Mbappé is officially for sale “next week, these next ten days, maximum two weeks”, is that he has definitely decided for a departure at the end of the contract. So why not wait one more season, at the end of which he will only be 25 years old?

An exceptional salary, an off-market rating

Much more than his price on the market, it is his salary that has taken on a whole new dimension. His last contract in Paris brought him into the sphere of sports superstars, where the crème de la crème of the most bankable athletes in their disciplines rub shoulders. The team speaks of 72 million euros gross annually.

If Real aligned with Parisian demands, the club with 14 Champions Leagues would have to pay 270 million euros just for the season of Mbappé’s recruitment. Only Manchester City seem to be able to combine the funds and the sporting project to lure the French international into their nets. And the Citizens do not seem overly interested.

How to blame them? Difficult to look into such a file, when the most promising young players of the old continent, even of the world, are changing at much lower cost. Among the most talented young Europeans, Jude Bellingham, four years younger than Mbappé, was bought just over 100 million euros by Real Madrid. In more attacking positions, closer to the role that Mbappé can occupy, we find Bukayo Saka valued at 120 million euros by Transfermarkt. Victor Osimhen at the same price, although Napoli would have claimed 180 million from Paris. Or Rafael Leao, at 90 million.

Profiles less brilliant than that of the Bondynois, of course. But at the same age, or younger, and with (really) much lower salary expectations. At Mbappé’s current price, it’s hard to imagine NAK capable of following through on his ultimatum. Or perhaps on condition that the attacker agrees to lower his emoluments to leave. This would constitute a new snub for the image of PSG. The master of this little game, which could well extend until the last days of this summer transfer window, is called Kylian.