Kylian Mbappe’s proposed move to Real Madrid could put paid to the club’s future chances of prising Erling Haaland away from Manchester City, according to reports.
The Paris Saint-Germain and France superstar is said to have informed his current club of his intentions to depart when his contract winds down at the end of this season, making Mbappe the hottest free agent of the summer.
Real are widely believed to be leading the chase for his signature, with Mbappe’s monstrous signing-on fee demands of over £100m and a wage north of a million pounds per week leaving the 14-time European champions as potentially his only viable destination.
Liverpool and Arsenal are both said to be unwilling to get anywhere near those kinds of numbers for Mbappe’s services, but a move to Spain could still have implications that were felt in the Premier League, according to The Mirror.
Their reasoning is that signing Mbappe would price Real Madrid out of any attempt to make a summer move for Haaland – a player they are said to have long admired.
And while he would remain on their wishlist for 2025, the presence of Mbappe in the squad may make a move to the Santiago Bernabeu unappealing to the Norwegian hotshot.
The argument goes that both players are keen on claiming Ballons d’Or in the future and that being teammates would lead to a split ballot between the two should they bring further glory to Real Madrid.
Los Blancos have resisted signing a top-class centre-forward in recent years as they focus their attentions on Mbappe and Haaland and even decided against bringing in an elite striker when Karim Benzema left the club last summer.
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