French Report Claims Monaco and Not Kylian Mbappe Are Driving Player's Expected Exit

Monaco and not Kylian Mbappe will allegedly be the driving force behind any high profile transfer involving the 18-year-old sensation this summer, contrary to the popular belief that the reigning Ligue 1 champions are desperate to keep their top players.

The sensational claim comes from Yahoo Sport France, with the suggestion that it is 'the will' of Monaco to make a sale. Mbappe, they say, has never asked to leave and wants to stay.

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The report goes on to state that if Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco come to a successful agreement over the transfer - an initial loan with an obligation to buy in 2018 is one such arrangement that has been rumoured to help PSG avoid Financial Fair Play sanctions - Mbappe won't have initiated it.

Yahoo claims that Monaco are painting a negative public image of Mbappe as the driving force so as to better justify his almost inevitable departure to supporters.

Apparently the alleged phone call he is supposed to have had from Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane in which he made the 'come and get me' plea never actually happened.

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Any club wishing to buy Mbappe outright will have to pay €180m, though, a figure that stands to make the young Frenchman the second most expensive player of all time behind only Neymar.

Considering he has only had one full season of first-team football, just half as a starter, and is yet to find the net in any of his four senior international caps to date, any suitor willing to stump up the cash is buying incredible future potential rather than anything like the finished article.