The situation about Kylian Mbappe’s future will last a long time.
The 22-year-old French international is the most sought-after asset in world football. The Paris Saint-Germain star sees his stock rise after another stellar performance in Ligue 1 last season.
All of the heavyweights in European football have been linked to Mbappe over the last year, including Liverpool. And while interest in a generational talent like Mbappe isn’t surprising, it’s far less likely to actually materialize.
The connections to Liverpool are there. Mbappe’s admiration for promoting the Reds and Jurgen Klopp and the close ties between Nike’s “chosen ones” from Mbappe and the basketball icon and Fenway Sports Group partner and Liverpool fan LeBron James have been fueled by her ties to the US sportswear giant in recent years Fortified 12 months or so.
With Mbappe’s teammate Neymar Jr.’s wages of around £ 500,000 a week after his new contract in the French capital, Mbappe’s own salary would be at least equal to that figure if he were to volunteer for an extended period of time, which kind of numbers limit the scope considerably for a move.
And with Liverpool’s top earner, Mohamed Salah, at around £ 200,000 a week – and with a fairly evenly distributed wage structure – it’s hard to imagine the FSG would be willing to pull the trigger on the £ 150million on top of such a colossal outlay they would likely have to pay to get Mbappe out of Paris, where his contract expires in 2022.
The Nike link could help, and it is not out of the question that sponsors will step in to drive financial deals forward. Whether Nike would benefit from offloading Mbappe from a Nike team that they are. Summary ends.
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