French forward Kylian Mbappe, who has an offer on the table from Saudi Arabia for an eye-watering £600 million a year, has reportedly made up his mind about the move to the Middle East.
According to French football expert Julien Laurens, who was speaking on TalkSport, Mbappe is not interested in a move to the Saudi Pro League, despite the sums on offer for the 24-year-old forward.
With PSG reportedly accepting the staggering £259 million offer for the star forward, according to Sky Sports, it did seem that a move to Saudi Arabia for one of the world’s best players was a possibility, but Laurens has seemingly put an end to the talk that he could accept the move.
“It’s not going to happen, he doesn’t want to go there,” Laurens said on TalkSport. “His mind could change, but as of now he doesn’t want to go there and they (Al-Hial) haven’t spoken to him or his family about the move.
“I admire them (Al-Hilal) for trying and for putting such a big offer on the table for him, but he’s not going to move to Saudi Arabia even if it’s for just one year.”
The French forward is seemingly preferring a move to Real Madrid as things stand, according to The Athletic.
The 24-year-old is yet to win a Ballon d’Or, which, according to Laurens, is something that he is very keen to do, and seems unlikely in the Middle East.
Potential Haaland Ballon d’Or success crucial to Mbappe rejecting move
Laurens has also claimed that Erling Haaland potentially winning a Ballon d’Or with Manchester City could well have affected his plans and made up the forward’s mind.
“He (Mbappe) keeps saying he wants to win the Ballon D’or which isn’t going to happen in Saudi Arabia,” Laurens said.
“He will see Haaland as his rival, and he could witness Haaland win a Ballon D’or soon whilst he is in Saudi Arabia, so I don’t think it’s a possibility.”
With Haaland lifting the UEFA Champions League and completing an unprecedented treble with Manchester City last season, the coveted individual award could be heading his way this summer, and after 52 goals in all competitions for City last season, it would hardly be a surprise if he were to claim the award.
This may well make up Mbape’s mind about the eye-watering sums of money on offer with Real Madrid waiting in the wings for the forward’s decision.
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