PSG willing to sell Mbappe to Man Utd! How close is a deal?

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 17 Jun 2023 19:55 BST
• 4 min read

Manchester United are positioned to make a run at PSG attacker Kylian Mbappe in the summer transfer window should Sheikh Jassim complete his takeover of the club in the weeks ahead.

FootballTransfers has revealed that the Qatari has already made contact with Mbappe’s representatives regarding a possible move, despite not being in ownership of the club. Nevertheless, the signs are that he is in pole position to win the race.

PSG are prepared to facilitate a transfer should the France international refuse to back down on his contract stance. Presently, he is destined to become a free agent in 2024 but he has the option to extend this to 2025 by the end of July.

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The battlelines that are being drawn around Mbappe’s future are being shaped by the internal politics surrounding PSG, as well as the player’s own desires. And this is where things become more complicated for Man Utd.

The Ligue 1 champions might well be happy to sell Mbappe this summer for the right price – this could be around the €200 million mark – but will the attacker be content to leave?

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Mbappe likely to dig his heels in

The 24-year-old, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €135m, has insisted that he wants to remain at PSG next season.

This is Mbappe empowering himself with regards his future. He knows that next summer, he will be a free agent and, therefore, able to talk to whoever he wants and to potentially leverage a huge signing on fee at his future club.

By taking this stance, it also opens the door for his dream move to Real Madrid, who he turned down last summer. Having already spurned the Bernabeu side once since becoming a world star, he cannot afford to do it again. Doing so would finish his chances of ever wearing the white shirt he has craved for so long.

Los Blancos have already paid upwards of €100m for Jude Bellingham this summer. Another such move seems improbable, despite optimistic reports from Spain suggesting otherwise.

Mbappe also seems unwilling to be used as a pawn in Qatar’s political games. A move to Sheikh Jassim’s Man Utd this summer would make him just that. He feels let down by PSG’s ownership, so helping them by trading one Qatar-owned club for another appears unlikely.

Man Utd are certainly in the running for Mbappe, but they remain a distant second to Real Madrid, regardless of PSG’s stance. The power to decide the player’s future, after all, remains very much in the attacker’s hands.