After missing Lionel Messi, Saudi club Al Hilal on Monday made a record 300 million euro ($332 million) bid for Kylian Mbappé, allowing the French striker to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the oil-rich kingdom.
Paris Saint-Germain confirmed an offer for the player and gave Al Hilal the green light to begin direct negotiations with Mbappé, but sources have told ESPN that Mbappé is not interested in the offer.
The 2018 world champion is deadlocked regarding his contract with PSG after canceling a 12-month contract extension.
Instead, he is expected to leave the club as a free agent at the end of next season amid widespread recommendations to join Real Madrid.
Sources have told ESPN that if Mbappé joins Real Madrid on a free transfer next summer, he may have to pay a €100 million fee. He will also receive 80 million euros in September if he decides to stay at PSG.
PSG suspended Mbappé from their pre-season tour of Japan on Saturday. French clubs are keen to make him an offer unless he can be persuaded to sign a new contract.
Al Hilal’s bid would make Mbappé the highest-paid player in history, surpassing the $262 million Neymar paid when PSG signed the Brazilian from Barcelona in 2017.
The offer is Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious step in its ongoing quest to attract the sport’s biggest players to the country.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and Roberto Firmino are the big names to join the Saudi Arabian league after Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr in December. Messi turned down Al Hilal and preferred MLS club Inter Miami CF after leaving PSG.
But many players have already taken action and it is hoped that more will be added before the start of next season.
Top stars such as Riyad Mahrez and Jordan Henderson have been linked with the move.
Saudi Arabia has been trying to break into international sport in recent years.
Adding to Ronaldo’s contract (his contract is said to be worth up to $200 million annually), Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf has shaken up the sport.
The move is part of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to use the kingdom’s oil wealth to provide new jobs and opportunities for young Saudis.
But critics say the company is laundering sports money because it wants to use professional sport to enhance the image of the kingdom, which remains one of the world’s top executioners and sparked years of war in Yemen.
Moreover, in 2018, according to US intelligence reports, Prince Mohammed ordered the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
