Real Madrid Transfer Rumors: Los Blancos Planning €135 Million Bid for Kylian Mbappé
Real Madrid are reportedly planning to smash the world-record transfer fee by a wide margin this summer.
With their other summer transfer target, Eden Hazard, likely to miss up to three months following ankle surgery, Real Madrid are now stepping up their efforts to sign striker Kylian Mbappé.
According to French radio station RMC, Los Blancos are preparing a €135 million (£117.5 million) bid for the French footballer after Monaco turned down their previous bids of €100 million and €115 million.
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That's a lot of money for a teenager who had one great season playing in France's top flight. He did help Monaco win the Ligue 1 title, but he's still fairly unproven.
Mbappé reportedly wants to stay in Monaco for another year because he needs to play regular first-team football if he wants to vie for a spot in France's 2018 World Cup team. With Real Madrid, the striker can't possibly start right away with players like Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale up front.
However, Los Blancos have figured out a solution for this and they will allow Mbappé to remain in Monaco next season. This offer is going to be difficult to reject for Monaco, and this will probably give Real Madrid an edge over Mbappé's other suitors like Chelsea, Arsenal and the two clubs in Manchester.
"Not only are they La Liga and Champions League holders and could offer Mbappe almost a guarantee of winning major silverware, but Monaco would also likely jump at the chance to keep their star forward for another season while picking up a record transfer fee," Rory Marsden said in his report for Bleacher Report.
To raise the funds for the Mbappé deal, Los Blancos are willing to sell James Rodríguez and Manchester United, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in the Colombian footballer.
