Kylian Mbappe is closing in on a £163million move to Paris Saint-Germain in another staggering summer coup for the French giants.
The 18-year-old wonderkid’s move means he is set to play alongside record-breaker Neymar and Edison Cavani in one of the most exciting front lines in world football.
It also means PSG, owned by Oryx Qatar Sport Investment, will have spent a mind-blowing £362m on two players in the past week to create a new world order in football transfers.
Last week they ripped up the record books with the capture of Brazilian star Neymar from Barcelona for £199m. This week they are poised to hand Mbappe a £10million-a-year deal to prise him away from Monaco.
In recent years five big clubs have established themselves as European superpowers in the transfer market, cornering the market for the world’s most expensive signings: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Now PSG, funded by their Qatari owners, are smashing their way into that exclusive club and threatening to shatter UEFA’s attempts to impose sensible fair play financial restrictions.
Monaco Vice-President Vadim Vasilyev explained his club’s position. “Mbappe will make the right decision. He has never expressed a wish to leave us. The player needs to move for the sake of sporting reasons.”
Real Madrid had been in talks to buy 18 year-old Mbappe but even the mighty Spaniards, who have a proud history of making world record signings including Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, are in danger of being brushed aside.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have also been monitoring Mbappe’s future. They believed he was unlikely to be sold this summer.
In the wake of Neymar’s transfer last week Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger warned: “Once countries own football clubs everything is possible and it has become difficult to respect Financial Fair Play.”
Oryx Qatar Sports Investments has close ties to the Qatar government who can inject extra funds into PSG through sponsorship deals.