Saudi football team Al-Hilal has made a record-breaking transfer bid of $332 million to French striker Kylian Mbappe with his current team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The bid for Mbappe, if successful, would make him the most expensive player in history, surpassing Brazilian Neymar’s transfer fee of $262 million, when he moved to PSG from Barcelona.
The offer, confirmed by PSG, gives Al-Hilal permission to negotiate directly with the 25-year-old, 2018 World Cup winning superstar.
Mbappe’s contract with PSG is almost at its end, and his decision to not extend it and become a free agent is being speculated as tensions rising at the club, along with his omission from PSG’s pre-season tour in Japan.
At the conclusion of the upcoming season, Real Madrid was being before this bid as the most likely destination for him.
The move by Al-Hilal reflects Saudi Arabia’s determination to attract top players to their domestic league. as the Saudi government seeks to leverage the kingdom’s vast wealth to provide new jobs and opportunities for Saudi Arabia’s youth and build their footballing culture.
The nation has been actively pursuing the biggest names in football from top leagues in Europe, with superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante already joining Saudi clubs on lucrative deals.
The financial muscle of Saudi Arabia’s league has drawn interest from many high-profile players, turning the country into a new hotspot for global football talent, with the previous generation’s most influential players like Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both being associated.
Critics however view the Mbappe bid as part of a ‘sportswashing‘ initiative, where the country seeks to improve its image in the light of controversies surrounding human rights issues and journalistic freedoms.
Nonetheless, Al-Hilal’s record-breaking bid for Mbappe highlights the determination of Saudi Arabia to assert itself as a major player in the global football.
The football world eagerly awaits Mbappe’s decision as the new guard in football takes shape.
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