Sport
Mbappe’s move to Saudi Arabia would change the face of European football
In recent times, Kylian Mbappe has been the subject of more transfer gossip than any other football player on the planet. Barely a day passes without a new thread of speculation about his future being woven. Of course, Mbappe has been involved in a mega-money move once before in his career – when he joined Paris Saint-Germain for €180m. His next move, however, could change the face of the entire sport.
Mbappe signalled his refusal to sign a new contract at PSG earlier this summer with the 24-year-old, as things stand, set to become a free agent in 12 months time. This has pushed PSG to actively tout Mbappe around world football with the French giants desperate to collect a transfer fee for their best player while they still can.
Real Madrid are long-term admirers of Mbappe, but Al-Hilal have suddenly jumped to the front of the queue to sign the forward, offering a world-record €300m fee to take him off PSG’s hands this summer. Reports claim the Saudi Pro League club has tabled a one-year contract worth an astonishing €700m to Mbappe.
Of course, Saudi clubs have already spent unprecedented amounts on players this summer. Karim Benzema, Ruben Neves, N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Marcelo Brozovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kalidou Koulibaly have all made the move to the country with many more expected to join before the window closes.
The signing of Mbappe, however, would represent a fundamental shift in the global football landscape. The 24-year-old is arguably the world’s best player at the moment and he is entering the peak years of his career. That Mbappe would even entertain moving to Saudi Arabia at this specific time says something about how the sport is changing.
In the age of Financial Fair Play (FFP) and heightened scrutiny of what European clubs are spending in the transfer market, Saudi Pro League clubs are essentially free to spend as they like. They are not bound by the same rules clubs in the Premier League and the other ‘Big Five’ leagues are and that has presented them with an opportunity.
Keep in mind Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has ploughed approximately $1 billion into its LIV Golf venture for almost no return beyond disruption of golf as a whole. At the last estimation, PIF manages close to $1 trillion in Saudi government money. €700m on Mbappe would be a drop in the ocean for them.
It’s entirely possible Mbappe could use a transfer to Al-Hilal this summer as a stop-gap solution until he can join Real Madrid as a free agent next summer. The French forward has long harboured the ambition to play for the Spanish giants and so there might be no amount of money that can persuade him to drop that.
Nonetheless, the sight of Mbappe playing in the Saudi Pro League at this stage of his career when almost every major European club would bend over backwards to sign him would be extremely notable. It would be unprecedented. The Frenchman would also surely lure other elite level performers to Saudi Arabia just as Lionel Messi has opened the eyes of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets to MLS since joining Inter Miami.
Around the world, football is in a period of transition. Politics is coming to the fore. Countries and leagues are jostling for position in the hierarchy and Mbappe could have a greater impact on the landscape than any other single player. His future is about more than just which club he will play for next season.
