Real Madrid fans wanted the Spanish giants to sign Kylian Mbappé right after his breakthrough season, but Los Blancos' fans had never known how close they were to land a deal with the rising star.
According to a report by Football Leaks included in today's edition of Der Spiegel, Real Madrid and Monaco had a deal in place to see Mbappé wearing the white jersey starting last season, but PSG got in the way and swept the player away.
Details of Real Madrid's deal with Monaco emerged today, including the date when the deal was reached (July 20, 2017), the amount set to be paid by Los Blancos ($206 million), and the hefty tax Real Madrid needed to pay the Spanish IRS for such a deal ($39M). Nevertheless, Mbappé snubbed Los Blancos due to a better offer from PSG on transfer deadline day, mainly due to the bonuses offered by Les Parisiens.
PSG got in the way by giving Mbappé a progressive salary, which started at $8M in his first season and which will end up being $12M yearly when his contract concludes. Added to that, PSG gave Mbappé and his father a $35,000 bonus to be spent on the rent of their house in Paris. Furthermore, Mbappé requested the hiring of three assistants: a driver, a butler, and a security guard. All of these requests were met by Les Parisiens.
Mbappé's decision left quite a few people angry, starting with Monaco's general director, Dimitri Vasyliev, who was reluctant to give one of their most talented players to a Ligue 1 rival. Real Madrid's president Florentino Pérez was also left dumb-founded, as he saw Mbappé's signing as the perfect replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.
So, if Real Madrid ever tries the signing of Kylian Mbappé again, they will have to up their bid even more to avoid any late involvement from other clubs.
