Even as Real Madrid waits to know the fate of their move to sign Kylian Mbappe, arch-rivals Barcelona have hijacked the transfer after reportedly showing interest in bringing the Paris Saint-Germain striker to Camp Nou.
According to French magazine L'Equipe, the 23-year-old forward, whose contract with PSG expires on June 30, is willing to hear the Catalan club's offer, which means that Xavi Hernandez's side has a real chance of ruining Mbappe's long-anticipated move to Santiago Bernabéu.
The report adds that Barcelona believes an approach for the French World Cup winner will turn out to be cheaper than the 300 million euros project to sign sensational striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian has a release clause of 75 million euros, and there is also commission fees of around 40 million euros for his agent Mino Raiola and father Alfe-Inge Haaland for Barca to consider.
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On the other hand, Mbappe, who joined Le Parc des Princes in 2017, can head to Camp Nou free of charge and hijack him from Real Madrid, to who he has been closest linked. Regardless, following PSG's yet another shocking collapse in the Champions League, ironically at the hands of Real Madrid, it appears that the prolific striker's future is certainly to move away from France.
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Mbappe has had yet another sensational year with the Ligue 1 leaders. The 23-year-old has scored 26 goals and 17 assists in just 37 games in all competitions for PSG and is the only player to score in both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid.
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Reports say that Mbappe, like Haaland, focuses on the quality of the sporting projects over personal riches, with Mauricio Pochettino's side rumoured to have offered the Frenchman 1 million euros a week to stay at the Parc des Princes. Mbappe's willingness to hold discussions with Barcelona is now evidence that he has not decided on his future yet.
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Mbappe, who speaks fluent Spanish and currently shares a locker room at PSG with Messi and another former Barca star in Neymar, is currently on international duty with France for friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa the next five days.
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As for Barcelona, the Catalan club suffered a setback after saying goodbye to legendary striker Lionel Messi and also were knocked out of Europe's elite competition at the group stages. However, since Xavi Hernandez's arrival, Barca has played 16 La Liga games, winning 11, drawing four and losing just once.
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That would put them third in the La Liga table since November 18, 12 points behind league leaders, Real Madrid – having played one game fewer. Barcelona's El Clasico 4-0 victory away at the Bernabeu is the latest evidence that Xavi is making Barcelona a serious force to reckon with.
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Whether Mbappe chooses to join Real Madrid or Barcelona or opts to stay at PSG, regardless, whoever gets the Frenchman this summer will certainly gain one of the best players in world football at the moment.
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