Real Madrid make bid for Kylian Mbappe as PSG forward delays signing new contract

Real Madrid have made a bold attempt to sign France international Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain as the striker continues to delay signing a new contract.

The sudden prospect of losing one of Europe’s most exciting young players would be a huge setback to PSG but it immediately sparked a mouth-watering suggestion the sale of Mbappe would allow the French club to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus as his replacement.

The prospect of watching Ronaldo join Messi in Paris will stun the football world, as will the possibility that three of the game’s biggest stars could be playing for new clubs within a few days of each other.

It remains to be seen whether Mbappe and Ronaldo will follow Messi in making a shock move, but it promises to be a fascinating end to the transfer window.

Telegraph Sport reported earlier this month that PSG could be forced to sell Mbappe in the aftermath of their headline grabbing capture of Lionel Messi, as the 22-year-old moved into the final year of the deal he signed when he arrived from Monaco for €180m in 2018.

Mbappe was already resisting attempts to persuade him to sign a new contract before Messi’s arrived on a free transfer from Barcelona and it appears he has no intention of altering that stance even though the Argentinan international is a teammate in Paris.

Although reports in France claim PSG have rejected Real’s opening £160m bid, it was always difficult to understand how they could cover the cost of Messi’s enormous wage demands and continue to risk losing Mbappe for a fraction of his true market value next summer.

PSG have publicly and privately insisted they do not want to sell Mbappe and indicated that Messi’s arrival had not done anything to alter that.

But Real have long coveted the player and have clearly been encouraged to make a bid because of the contract stand off.

Sources in Spain have also indicated that Mbappe would like to make the move to Spain now rather than wait until he is a free agent in 2022.

Real have been struggling with financial issues in recent years, but appear to have found the money to fund a bid. Whether they have the resources to make an improved one to tempt PSG remains to be seen.

It would be a timely and powerful statement about the enduring appeal of the Spanish giants after La Liga mourned the loss of Messi to the French league and Barcelona openly admitted they are in a dire financial position with crippling debts of more than £1bn.

The fact Messi left as a 34-year-old in the twilight of his glittering career and Mbappe would arrive with the best years of his career ahead of him would be seen as a coup.

Although the sight of two of the all time greats lining up alongside each other in Paris would more than compensate.