The future of the 25-year-old global phenomenon – arguably the biggest name in world football right now – is dominating column inches again as he enters the final six months of his contract at PSG. And as it stands, where Mbappe plays his football from next season onwards remains anyone’s guess.
And while Mbappe insists he will not be rushed into a decision over his future and that he is yet to chose if he will leave PSG, reports in Spain are adamant that the World Cup winner will be parading himself with a new side from this summer.
To that end, it was claimed earlier this week that Real Madrid had already agreed a pre-contract agreement to bring Mbappe in on what would be the most significant free transfer in football history.
The forward’s entourage, however, were quick to play down those claims, making it clear nothing had been finalised and that any decision on the player’s future would be put on ice for the time being.
That move, though, has seemingly strengthened Liverpool’s prospects of landing Mbappe themselves, despite Jurgen Klopp persistently laughing off the chances of such a deal going ahead.
And to strengthen those claims, reports in Spain on Tuesday suggested the Reds do genuinely have a bigger chance of landing Mbappe than they are letting on.
John Henry serious in a bid to land Kylian Mbappe for Liverpool
Indeed, strong claims in Mundo Deportivo claimed the Reds had a plan in place to meet Mbappe’s giant wage demands – reportedly said to be £700,000 a week – and were willing to hand the star the ‘Liverpool throne’ to convince him to sign.
And with Liverpool now viewed as the main rivals to Real Madrid to win the race to sign Mbappe, MD reports Liverpool believe they can convince him to head to Merseyside by giving him No 1 status – something he would have to compete for at the Bernabeu alongside the likes of Vini Junior and Jude Bellingham.
Of course, saying they want to make it happen and actually making it happen are two entirely different prospects.
They are said to be aware that Mbappe ‘really, really likes Liverpool’, with the star even admitting he has held talks with them in the past, albeit, as he sheepishly put it, at the insistence of his Mum.
Taking the story on to another level, Mundo Deportivo now claims Liverpool owner Henry has made the signing of Mbappe his personal mission.
The 74-year-old rarely gets involved in the football side of things at Anfield, putting his trust in the people he has in place at Anfield, led by chairman Tom Werner, manager Klopp and, as it stands, sporting director Jorg Schmadtke.
However, the American has reportedly made it clear that funds can and will be made available to potentially get the deal over the line, with a number of commercial tie-ins and marketing deals said to be key in Liverpool finding a way to finance such a move.
Mo Salah on his way out if Mbappe signs for Liverpool
Part of that strategy, however, would see Liverpool having to sacrifice their current star man in Mo Salah.
The Egyptian, currently away with his country on African Cup of Nations duty, is on a deal to summer 2025 at Anfield which is worth an estimated £350,000 a week.
With that deal now entering its final 18 months, Liverpool do have a major decision to make on the 31-year-old, especially in light of ongoing interest in bringing the player to the Saudi Pro-League.
As a result, Liverpool could be tempted to cash in on Salah, knowing his sale could yet generate a minimum £150m and potentially breaking the world record fee for a transfer – currently set by Neymar’s £198m (€222m) move to PSG in 2017.
Those funds, together with the saving in wages, would go a long way towards the funding of Mbappe’s signing.
Given the ages of the two players, Henry is said to be convinced that signing Mbappe – despite earning double Salah’s salary – does make plenty of sense for the Reds. At some six years his junior, Henry believes Liverpool could be landing on the best star in the world in his prime years. And while Salah clearly looks after himself and could be good to continue playing well into his thirties, there is a school of thought that suggests Salah’s best years may now sadly be behind him.
Comparing the two records also makes for interesting reading. The iconic Salah has scored a phenomenal 204 goals in 332 games for Liverpool – a strike every 1.6 games.
By contrast, Mbappe – albeit in a league generally considered far inferior to the Premier League – has 237 goals in 284 appearances for PSG – a notch every 1.19 games.
As a result, there’s an argument to suggest Liverpool would be increasing their potency by bringing in Mbappe at the expense of Salah.
Despite that, his signing still represents a massive financial upheaval for Liverpool and it would take a huge effort if they were to pull off what would undoubtedly prove the biggest signing in the club’s history.
