Al Hilal, the Saudi football club, has made a bid of €300mn to Paris Saint-Germain owned by Qatar. This is a record-breaking amount for Kylian Mbappe who is currently in a dispute with his club about his contract.
Al Hilal, owned by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and requesting to begin talks with Mbappe in a July 22 letter, said a source with direct knowledge. A second person who was briefed about the situation said that the bid is preliminary.
This approach emerged as tensions increased between PSG, and its star player. According to a source close to PSG, the French club, which has been owned by Qatar Sports Investments, since 2011, wants to get a large transfer fee from Mbappe before his contract expires in 2019. Mbappe said he was willing to wait until his contract ended to allow PSG to negotiate a large transfer fee.
PSG acquired Mbappe for €180mn from AS Monaco in 2018. This was a year after the Brazilian forward Neymar, who had been purchased by FC Barcelona for €222mn. These are the two largest transfers in football history. The 24-year old French footballer who grew in a suburb to the north-east Paris is one of sport’s top players. He scored a hattrick against Argentina in the Fifa World Cup final in Qatar last year.
Riyadh has ambitious plans for sport, ranging from golf and football to motorsport. Mbappe will likely attract interest from the Premier League and other top European clubs.
He turned down Real Madrid’s offer to join them last summer and chose to stay in his native country. According to a source close to PSG, the club suspects that he already has an agreement in principle with the Spanish club to join them when his contract ends. Mbappe could negotiate a better deal with his future club if they are not required to pay PSG a fee.
Saudi Arabia uses sport to establish its presence on the international stage and as a tourist hub. The strategy, which is being spearheaded by Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is part of an economic and social reform program in Saudi Arabia. Last month, under the leadership of the Saudi leader Public Investment Fund took control of Al Hilal’s rival Saudi Pro League team Al Ittihad Al Ahli and Al Nassr.
Since Al Nassr’s December deal with Cristiano Cristiano, the Saudi clubs have acquired more top footballers. Al Ittihad has secured the transfer of French stars N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Roberto Firmino from Liverpool to Al Ahli. Ruben Neves is a Portuguese player who left Wolverhampton Wanderers in Premier League for Al Hilal.
PIF forwarded a comment request to Al Hilal. Mbappe didn’t respond to an inquiry for comment. PSG refused to comment. Al Hilal and Real Madrid could not be immediately reached for comment.