Sources: Madrid want Mbappé before LaLiga start

Real Madrid would like to resolve the Kylian Mbappé situation in the first two weeks of August before the new LaLiga season starts, sources have told ESPN, but they are still waiting for the player, or his club Paris Saint-Germain, to make the first move.

PSG have made it clear that they would be open to a deal this summer to avoid Mbappé leaving on a free transfer next year, but the two clubs have not yet held talks with just two weeks left before the 2023-24 campaigns kick off in Spain and France.

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Madrid remain hopeful, however, and sources have told ESPN that the club are ready to get a deal done if PSG show that they are willing to open negotiations.

The Spanish giants are aware that a deal would cost over €200 million including variables, and they would offer Mbappé a six-year contract until 2029. Madrid would like Mbappé’s contract to match that of Jude Bellingham, who arrived this summer in a deal worth €103 million plus another 30% in variables.

The club sees Mbappé and Bellingham as the two players set to lead its new sporting project, alongside Vinicius Junior. Since the departure of Karim Benzema, Madrid’s executives have hoped to inaugurate the new Santiago Bernabeu stadium — set for completion in December this year — with Mbappé and Bellingham in the team.

On the field, Mbappé’s signing is seen as vital because at present coach Carlo Ancelotti can call on only Joselu as a specialist centre-forward. Madrid’s No. 9 shirt was left vacant after Benzema’s move to Saudi Arabia.

The club has been in contact with Mbappé’s representatives for some time and reports in Spain this week suggested that PSG valued Mbappé at €250 million, but sources have told ESPN that the Paris club would accept less than that.

PSG are also currently negotiating the potential signing of Ousmane Dembélé from Barcelona, with his release clause set to double from €50m to €100m on Tuesday.

Madrid had originally expected to wait until 2024 for Mbappé, but they would like to get a deal done now to avoid the risk of Premier League clubs entering the race for next year and driving up his personal terms and the size of his signing-on fee.

Publicly, the club’s messaging has been cautious and tight-lipped. Speaking before Madrid’s El Clasico friendly with Barcelona at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Ancelotti again described his squad as “complete,” echoing remarks he made after their 2-0 win over Manchester United in Houston in midweek.

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