Report: Real Madrid Makes $188 Million Bid for PSG Star Kylian Mbappé

As if there hasn't been enough earthshaking news in this monumental summer transfer window, Real Madrid has reportedly emerged from its transfer slumber to place a €160 million ($188.1 million) bid for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé, according to Sky Sports. 

The hectic summer has already seen Manchester City break the English transfer record for Jack Grealish and flirt with breaking it again for Tottenham's Harry Kane; Real Madrid deny a return move for Cristiano Ronaldo; and a somber Barcelona bid farewell to one of the game's all-time greats with Lionel Messi's move to PSG. 

And with one week remaining in the summer transfer window, Real Madrid's bid for Mbappé signals that there may be plenty of intrigue yet to come.

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With Mbappé heading into the last year of his contract and not yet convinced of signing a new deal, PSG has pulled out all of the stops with one of the most impressive transfer windows in recent memory. After reaching the Champions League final and semifinals in the last two seasons but failing to secure its coveted trophy, the French giants added a slew of proven Champions League winners (Messi, Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum) and burgeoning young talent (Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi) to build a formidable preseason favorite around Mbappé and Neymar. 

Since joining PSG from Monaco on loan in 2017 and signing a year later for €180 million, the 22-year-old Parisian has recorded 133 goals and 63 assists in 174 games while winning three Ligue 1 titles and a World Cup with France. Real's $188 million bid for a player with less than a year left on his contract is an astounding fee, both for its scope and Real's recent financial crunch (and also considering that the club can sign Mbappé to a pre-contract agreement for free in the winter, which would facilitate a move for next summer).

While Mbappé has often talked about his affinity for Real Madrid as fulfilling a childhood dream, Los Blancos currently find themselves in tatters. Aside from letting Ramos, its long-time captain and a club legend, leave on a free transfer for PSG, Real Madrid has also sold Raphaël Varane and Martin Ødegaard while former manager Zinedine Zidane left the club after saying the club no longer gave him, a three-time Champions League-winning coach, the confidence he needed to succeed. 

Meanwhile, Real Madrid has only signed one player—Bayern Munich defender David Alaba on a free transfer this summer—in the last two seasons. Sky Sports reports the club reported roughly €300 million ($352 million) in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic while club president Florentino Pérez claimed the Super League would help resolve its financial situation. 

PSG, which has been vocal about keeping Mbappé and signing him to a record new contract, has reportedly not responded to Real's bid, which was submitted on Sunday. Regardless, the final week of the transfer window is now shaping up to be the grand finale to a summer filled with fireworks across the sport. 

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