AMMAN — The
decision was made and published.
Kylian Mbappe, the most sought-after young
talent in the world of soccer — who has been approaching free agency for the
past 12 months — has renewed his contract with his current club
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), ending a year-long saga in the most dramatic of circumstances.
اضافة اعلان
Mbappe’s
decision to stay with PSG caught everyone by surprise. After all, nearly everyone,
myself included, thought the
Frenchman’s eventual destination this summer would
be in the Spanish capital, not the French one.
But lo
and behold, rumors started to flow on Friday and on Saturday Mbappe was turning
his body in PSG’s social media video announcing that he’s renewing for another
three years, bringing everyone’s predictions to a false.
"Money
is not the most important thing for Kylian Mbappe," Nasser Al-Khelaifi,
PSG’s president said in a news conference on Monday.
"There's
another club in Spain that can pay way more than us. The sports project was the
most important point for Mbappe."
The “another
club in
Spain” Khelaifi was referring to was, of course, Real Madrid. The
Spanish giants have been catering to every whim and desire by Mbappe for the
past few years in order to secure his long-desired signature.
The
stadium rebuild has been geared towards seeing the Frenchman put on their
famous white jersey under the lights of the new, top-of-the-art mega stadium.
The
austerity measures the club had enforced upon itself in the previous transfer
windows were justified with the promise of landing the
French World Cup winner
this summer.
Everything
the club was doing has been in preparation and in anticipation for this moment,
but the moment never arrived. Or maybe, the moment has been put on hold.
However, this
loss might have not been a loss for the Los Blancos.
The
amount of financial capital that would have been spent to lure Mhbappe to Spain
was monumental and, frankly, frightening. Now that he has decided to remain in
France, perhaps
Real Madrid could use this unexpected window of opportunity for
other investments.
Instead
of putting all your eggs in one basket, one of the most coveted baskets in the
world of soccer, Madrid could now instead diversify their investments across multiple
areas that need enhancement.
Reports
are already emerging linking the Spanish club with Monaco’s defensive
midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. The position is currently occupied by world-class
player Casemiro, but he recently turned 30 and might need rest every now and
then in the coming seasons.
Madrid
are also being linked to another forward — Mohamed Salah of
Liverpool. The
Egyptian king has only one year left on his contract with the Merseyside club
and has not specified whether he will be renewing his contract and remaining in
England or leave for pastures new. Acquiring his services would be a coup for
Madrid.
In terms
of strikers, Madrid is eyeing Robert Lewandowski, another world-class name to
help share the burden with Karim Benzema. They have also already signed Anotnio
Rudiger from
Chelsea.
So, even
with Mbappe not coming to Madrid, it’s not all over for the current Spanish
champions.
Perhaps
his snub will serve as a blessing in disguise.
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