Real Madrid have reportedly agreed a deal to sign AS Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe for a new world-record sum of €180 million (£161 million). However, Monaco are said to have denied any agreement is in place.
Carlos Carpio of Spanish newspaper Marca reported Los Blancos will pay Monaco €160 million up front with another €20 million in add-ons. It's reported Mbappe, 18, will sign a six-year contract at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu worth €135,000 per week.
Not long after reports of an agreement emerged on Tuesday, Get French Football sourced a report from French newspaper Nice-Matin , which said Monaco have already dismissed the claims:
Carpio mentioned in his report that Monaco could even see their kick-back from the deal increase to €30 million depending on Mbappe's performance at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
If reports prove genuine, Real have taken a vital step toward securing the services of a talent who is one of world football's rising superstars in 2016-17, his first term as a Monaco starter, per Squawka:
Kylian Mbappe across all competitions for Monaco last season:
44 games
26 goals
11 assists
Involved in a goal once every 71.2 minutes.
11:37 AM - 25 Jul 2017
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Squawka Football
@Squawka
It's mentioned Monaco were holding hold out for €190 million but did not wish to sell to a direct Ligue 1 rival in Paris Saint-Germain, while Mbappe himself didn't want to join other suitors Manchester City.
Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol provided further context on the agreement, suggesting it was Mbappe's desire to join Real, who became the first club to win back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles in May:
If Marca are right, Mbappe is turning down a much bigger offer by signing for Real Madrid on £120k a week. PSG were offering £200k a week
11:51 AM - 25 Jul 2017
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Kaveh Solhekol
@SkyKaveh
Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney noted the importance of the recent exits of Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez, to Chelsea and Bayern Munich, respectively, in freeing up the funds Real needed to launch their move on Mbappe:
This makes a lot of sense after the Morata and James sales. However, it does overcrowd the attacking positions with a World Cup coming up.. twitter.com/marca/status/8…
11:41 AM - 25 Jul 2017
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Andrew Gaffney
@GaffneyVLC
The transfer would comfortably eclipse the previous world-record €105 million (£89.3 million) fee Manchester United paid to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus last summer—if it goes through.
Marca 's Chris Winterburn highlighted the value aspect when taking this summer's sales into consideration:
Morata's *squad space* will be taken by Mbappe for a net spend of near £45m which is pretty reasonable for the Frenchman's talent.
11:41 AM - 25 Jul 2017
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2h Chris Winterburn
@cmwinterburn
Replying to @cmwinterburn
Financially this is a perfect deal for Madrid. £96m was brought in from Morata and Danilo sales. Danilo replacement is within the club and
Chris Winterburn
@cmwinterburn
The teenager excelled for Monaco last season and proved pressure is no burden to his success, scoring against Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus as his side fell out of the UEFA Champions League at the semi-final stage.
His goals paved Monaco's path to winning the 2016-17 Ligue 1 title, and Mbappe's early exploits look set to make him the second French player in succession to break the world transfer record ahead of his Real Madrid move.
