French football expert Jonathan Johnson has explained what the latest is on the Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid transfer saga, whilst also clearing up why there were some talks with Manchester City as well.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Johnson explained that a few details are still being ironed out for Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid, with his participation in the Olympics likely to be a key detail, along with other moving parts.
Mbappe is out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this season and it seems in all likelihood that he will finalise a move to the Bernabeu soon, though Johnson admits it might still be some time before we hear the deal being officially announced.
The France international is not, however, at all likely to join Man City or anyone else, even if Johnson admits his entourage will have sounded out other clubs like that in order to get good leverage when negotiating a contract with Real.
Mbappe transfer: Man City talks were only negotiating tactic for Real Madrid
“Since my last column, Kylian Mbappe has confirmed to Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he plans to leave PSG at the end of his contract this summer,” Johnson said.
“While that communication has now been made, there is still no official communication that Mbappe has reached an agreement with Real Madrid. There’s still nothing signed, despite some reports stating that it’s a done deal, to all intents and purposes.
“We don’t have anything official from PSG or Real Madrid yet either, but what we do know is that PSG probably won’t announce Mbappe’s departure until he’s communicated that he’s signed a contract with Real Madrid. Another key detail in terms of the timing of all this could be when it becomes clear whether or not the two clubs can meet in the Champions League this season.
“So, in theory that means it might be a while yet before we get an announcement on that, but should one or the other drop out of the competition then that could pave the way for there to be some official communication sooner rather than later.
“From what I’m told, one reason the deal is still to be signed on the dotted line is related to his Olympic participation, and other various moveable parts.
“It’s also been reported that Mbappe’s entourage have sounded out the likes of Manchester City, and my understanding is that they are a group of very switched-on individuals who know the kind of leverage they have with a player of Mbappe’s calibre. So sounding out some of the biggest clubs like Man City in order to extrapolate the best offer they can out of Real Madrid is a no-brainer.
“This allows them to go to the table armed with the knowledge of what other clubs would be willing to pay for him, but it doesn’t mean that the intention was to seriously consider a move to anywhere other than Real Madrid, but it was just to get the best contract possible.”