Mbappe's dilemma: Money or prestige

Real Madrid won't break salary structure

Posted Sunday, July 09, 2017 by Marca.com

If Kylian Mbappe is to become a Real Madrid player this summer, he will have to accept an offer of less than half of that currently on the table from Paris Saint-Germain, due to the LaLiga champions' strict salary structure.

The same problem saw Los Blancos pull out of the race for Paul Pogba last year, and could again be the deciding factor in where one of football's hottest young talents ends up this summer.

Zinedine Zidane and all of the Real hierarchy want to bring Mbappe to the club, but nobody is willing to jeopardise the integrity of their salary system, which would not allow anything in excess of five million euros per season to be offered to the Monaco star.

With 12 million per annum being offered by PSG, Mbappe will be left with a tough decision and while he prefers a move to Madrid due to the club's stature, his father and family could sway him in favour of Paris.

If Real Madrid were to offer an 18-year-old that money, current players would be demanding increases to their salary and a revolution would be only a matter of hours away.

Twelve million a year would place Mbappe as the squad's second highest earner, interfering with the top three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos, which the club are not open to doing.

The economics of the deal will not rule Real out of a move for the player this summer, however, as the striker will have had it made clear to him, this offer of five million can be revised after a couple of seasons, depending on his status within the squad at that time.

Mbappe himself has doubts over the level that PSG can reach, and is aware that the French side do not compare to the Spanish and European champions.