Real Madrid's €100m Mbappe problem
Martin Macdonald
- 30 Apr 2022 18:18 BST
- 3 min read
Kylian Mbappe's expected transfer to Real Madrid is in doubt after the Frenchman increased his salary demands by €100m.
The Frenchman's contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires in June and he has long been linked with a move to Los Blancos.
Mbappe remains one of the most expensive players in history, having joined PSG from Monaco for €140m.
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The player is a self-confessed Real Madrid fan and holds a dream of emulating the success of his hero, Cristiano Ronaldo, at Santiago Bernabeu.
On transfer deadline day last summer, Real Madrid tabled an outrageous €200 million bid for Mbappe in full knowledge they could sign him for free a year later. Paris Saint-Germain didn't even bother to respond to the bid, and negotiations never happened.
PSG are desperate to keep Mbappe and have put together a financial package that would see him become the highest-paid player in the world should he sign a new deal, but it appears he is not interested in staying in Paris.
He is widely expected to join Real Madrid, but there has been a major speedbump in negotiations after it was confirmed that Mbappe has increased his salary demands by no less than €100m.
The developments were reported by Spanish journalist Guillem Balague on El Chiringuito.
What has Mbappe said about Real Madrid?
When Mbappe's move to Madrid in the summer of 2021 failed to materialise, he admitted to being disappointed at having to remain at PSG.
"At the time, I was a bit disappointed to stay," he said.
"When your ambition is to leave and you stay, you’re not happy about it. But I quickly moved on. Unfortunately, I got injured while on international duty. I came back quickly, I had the time to mourn over it while there weren’t any matches. When I came back, I scored and I performed well once again.
"I stayed and I’m really happy. At no point during the season will you hear behaviour along the lines of ‘you didn’t let me leave, I’m going to take it easy’. I have too much love for football and too much respect for the club and for myself, to take it easy even for one game.
"Of course. Real made an offer. People said that I turned down six or seven renewal offers, no way! People were saying that I didn’t want to talk to Leonardo, even though it’s the president [Nasser Al-Khelaifi] who wanted to take things over. When I’m told to speak with the president, I’m not going to say no. People were saying I was planning on messing around in the dressing room – again, not at all.
"When your president says in front of the entire world that you’re not going to leave, nor leave on a free… at the time, I was a bit worried, I’m not going to lie. I said to myself, ‘if I’m not leaving on a free, what’s going to happen to me?’ After that, you distance yourself and tell yourself that it’s their way of showing their attachment. It means that the club likes me and won’t let me leave."
Real Madrid won La Liga on Saturday after defeating Espanyol 4-0.
