Explained: The transfer saga of Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid and when the deal could materialise

Kylian Mbappe’s spell at Paris Saint-Germain is all set to come to an end after the player confirmed his desire to leave the club. In what is speculated to be the biggest free agent signing in the history of football, Mbappe is closing in on a move to Real Madrid as the speculations surrounding his future could come to an end. Not for the first time has Mbappe dreamt of a move to Real Madrid, having also come close in the 2022 summer before a late U-turn saw the deal collapse. However, the deal is now set to go under the hammer as Mbappe gets ready to swap the French capital for the Spanish capital, so ahead of the likely transfer here is all you need to know on the latest updates.

Latest updates on Mbappe's transfer

As of Wednesday (Feb 21), Mbappe is reported to be finalising the details of his move to Real Madrid as he lines up to be the next Galactico signing for the Spanish giants. Mbappe will sign as a free agent after his contract with PSG expires on June 30. According to FIFA rules, a player in the final six months of his club contract is free to negotiate with any other club, which permits Mbappe to have open discussions with Real Madrid.

According to a reliable football journalist, the 2018 World Cup winner will take a pay cut on his current salary to join Real. Mbappe currently earns in excess of $200 million in salary at PSG according to Sky Sports. The report further states that the French talisman will get a signing-on fee of more than $100 million, equivalent to buying any big-name player in the world. The clubs are in the final stage of discussion where they working on the image rights structure and clearance from the Spanish and French authorities.

Is any other club in the running to sign Mbappe?

In the modern day, very few clubs can afford the salary pack offered to Mbappe by PSG, which sees the majority of the clubs out of race in signing the player. However, a few clubs that have the financial muscle and can break the bank include Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. However, Barcelona’s financial issues currently have seen them out of race while City and United are not ready to break the bank on a single player. Bayern Munich currently have Harry Kane in their ranks and are again not ready to flex their financial muscle for a single player, leaving Real as the only team in the race.

Mbappe’s reluctance to sign for Saudi Pro League (SPL) clubs has indirectly eliminated them from the race. The same goes for Arsenal even though manager Mikel Arteta stated he is interested in signing the player.

When could be the Mbappe signing announced?

As things stand, both PSG and Real Madrid could meet in the later stages of the Champions League which could result in integrity issues for the player. To avoid any such circumstances, Real and Mbappe are likely to postpone the announcement even if they reach an agreement. However, once either Real or PSG are out of the Champions League, the deal could be announced.

As things stand, the earliest Real and PSG could meet is in the quarterfinal of the Champions League which takes place in April. So, the Mbappe deal could be announced after the draws for the Champions League are revealed if both teams advance to the latter stages.

Why is the Mbappe deal the biggest free transfer?

Real in 2022 offered $200 million to PSG for the signing of Mbappe and could have become the second-most expensive player in the world after Neymar. However, a last-minute U-turn saw the deal collapse, giving PSG an edge to retain his services. Two years from that saga, Mbappe’s contract comes to an end in June 2024, and the extension clause was not triggered by the player which has resulted in the player leaving the club for free.

As stated earlier, Real paying $100 million will be the biggest signing-on fee ever given to a player in the history of the game. While Mbappe’s salary will be similar to that of Vinicius Jr and other players, the signing-on fee and bonuses included in Mbappe’s contract will see Real spend around $200 million resulting in the deal being the biggest in the history of the game.