Monaco are holding firm over Kylian Mbappe, telling Arsenal and Real Madrid that they will need to pay far in excess of €130 million (£113.7m) up front if they want to sign the youngster this summer.
The French club are desperate to hang on to their most prized asset despite significant interest from Real, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.
And now French publication Journal du Dimanche report that the Ligue 1 champions’ stance on Mbappe has not softened at all, with the club incredibly rejecting a €130m offer plus bonuses.
That deal was tabled by Real and was significantly higher than Arsenal’s bid, believed to be around €100m (£87.4m), which has prompted them to push ahead with a move for Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette.
Monaco have no intention of allowing him to join PSG, meanwhile, and would ask for an even bigger transfer fee from their domestic rivals.
The club’s stance is clear, forcing any suitors to break the bank to land the teenager, and they are even preparing a lucrative salary offer that they are confident other clubs will not match.
It is claimed that Mbappe, who is out of contract in 2019, will be handed a 900 per cent pay increase to take his earnings from €18k-per-week to €162k-per-week.
That works out at around €8.4m (£7.3m) per year and gives him wage parity with the club’s current highest earner, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
With Europe’s biggest clubs now forced to think twice over Monaco’s enormous asking price, Mbappe could be tempted to increase his wages nine-fold and extend his contract.
It also represents his best chance of game time, with the 18-year-old conscious of needing regular first-team football in a World Cup year.
Double winners Real were hoping the lure of working with compatriot Zinedine Zidane and hero Cristiano Ronaldo could swing the deal in their favour, but the presence of so many star players could restrict Mbappe’s first-team minutes.
Nevertheless, JDD say he does want to leave Monaco – even if he has to wait until next summer – and the choice he has made with his heart is Real.
Wenger, meanwhile, hoped the lure of joining the club he supported as a child – and the promise of having the Arsenal team built around him – would turn his head.
However, the Gunners are unlikely to be able to meet Monaco’s asking price, while their salary offer is as much as Arsenal are currently paying to key men Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
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