Liverpool and Real Madrid have once again been linked with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, who will have just one year left on his contract next summer.
The 21-year-old World Cup winner is the second-most expensive footballer in history following his €180m transfer to PSG from Monaco in 2018, after an initial loan.
The forward has scored 91 times in 125 outings for the French champions, winning three consecutive Ligue 1 titles, as well as reaching the 2020 Champions League final.
Happy to be back ❤️?... @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/pq5Id7kX89
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) September 20, 2020
Perhaps the most valuable young talent in world football, Mbappe is approaching crossroads in his career. In summer 2021, he will have just one year left on his contract in Paris, while Europe's biggest and best are keeping a close eye on his situation.
A report from the Times earlier in the month claimed that Mbappe has already made his mind up on his future and has told PSG of his desire to change clubs next year, citing Real Madrid and Liverpool as possible destinations.
L'Equipe has now denied the Times' claim that Mbappe has already told PSG of his desire to leave. However, the French report does say that both the Premier League and La Liga champions have been in 'regular contact' with Mbappe, who currently has three options on the table for 2021: Liverpool, Real Madrid or PSG.
Apart from suggesting there has been contact from Liverpool and Real Madrid's respective camps, there is little new of substance in L'Equipe's speculative report - the decontextualised snippets of which have sent Twitter into meltdown.
On the Madrid front, the claim that Zinedine Zidane wanted French trio Mbappe, Eduardo Camavinga and Paul Pogba this summer before Covid struck is not really new, while it is said that Liverpool 'tried to sign' the wonderkid way back in 2016.
The report also (rather bizarrely) claims that Mbappe's family had a meeting with Tom Hicks and George Gillett on a private jet in Nice in order to discuss a deal in 2017. This is particularly unlikely as the two ex-Liverpool owners left the club (to much celebration on Merseyside) seven years before that event is said to have taken place.
Who do you take out of the current Liverpool team to put Mbappe in? ?#Mbappe2020 pic.twitter.com/AAkBYF2Bry
— 90min (@90min_Football) January 21, 2020
While Real Madrid and Liverpool are listed as the only possible destinations for Mbappe, other than staying in Paris, L'Equipe claim that geopolitical relations between Qatar and the UAE rule out a sale to Manchester City, while a transfer would be too pricey for European champions Bayern Munich.
It is added that the player would also not sign for Barcelona over Real Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane claimed last year that Mbappe dreams of playing for Los Blancos, while the striker has famously spoken publicly of his admiration for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Source: 90min
