Real Madrid's pursuit of Mbappe halted by €300 million in losses

Cameron Smith

• 17 Jul 2021 08:31 BST
• 3 min read

Real Madrid have announced that the club has suffered €300 million in losses since the coronavirus pandemic hit and sport around the world was forced to stop.

The club have released their 2020/21 financial accounts, and it shows they estimate to have lost an insane €300m since March 2020.

Since the pandemic hit, the club hasn't played a single game at their home Santiago Bernabeu ground, as fans haven't been allowed in, and have instead used their Castilla side's Alfredo Di Stefano stadium. This is because they are renovating the Bernabeu, but the loss of fans has impacted the club massively.

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Madrid have also announced that, as of June 30, 2021, the amount recorded by the treasury is €122.1m, which is less than last year's €125.3m.

The report revealed that "the recovery from the situation brought by the pandemic will not be immediate. As a result, the club will continue in its efforts to limit spending as has been done until now."

However, whilst the club has sustained losses, in terms of what they would've earned had the pandemic not hit, they actually showed post-tax profits with a balance of €874,000.

Real Madrid wrote: "The club are one of very few big European clubs to have not incurred losses over the last two years.

"According to a UEFA study, the operating losses accumulated by European clubs between 2019/20 and 2020/21 will be close to six billion euros."

How does this affect a potential move for Mbappe?

Unlike El Clasico rivals Barcelona, Real Madrid aren't in piles of debt, but a potential deal for Kylian Mbappe is still complicated.

First of all, his wages will be huge, but thanks to Sergio Ramos' departure, they may be manageable. However, despite Mbappe's contract at Paris Saint-Germain expiring next summer, they are likely to demand a large transfer fee, and with an estimated €300m in losses, Real Madrid don't seem in the right place to afford him.

Of course, Real Madrid need help scoring goals, but unless they can shift some money around, their losses appear too big to mount a serious charge to sign the Frenchman.

However, if they can work a way around their financial trouble, Mbappe would be an excellent signing, and solve their issue of not having a goal-scorer other than Karim Benzema.