Saudi Arabian riches called but Kylian Mbappe’s eyes glued to legacy & hory | Football News

The offer was irresible. Al-Hilal, the Saudi Arabia football club, were willing to shell out 259 million pounds for acquiring Kylian Mbappe, arguably the finest footballer on the planet, from PSG. He would earn 600 million pounds for one year of football in Arabia; that is 19 pounds every breathing second. But Mbappe’s eyes did not bulge, his heart did not pound, his mind did not waver. He and his representatives did not even bother meeting the Saudi club officials, or so goes reports swirling from France.It was not merely a refusal or a rejection, or him taking a loud political stance, but a statement of his vaulting club ambition, of his hunger for glory in Europe, or even his awareness that his club career has not soared as spectacularly as his time with the national team; that it is still in a half-baked state. All great sportsmen are locked in the eternal pursuit of perfection, of eliminating the rough edges, of ticking the boxes, filling the blanks.In a sense, his career is the inverse of Lionel Messi’s. The Argentine was 33 when he first tasted glory in the robes of his country, two more years would pass before he fulfilled his ultimate destiny. But even before he had turned 20, he had held aloft a Champions League trophy. 24, the age of Mbappe, Messi had added two more titles, besides a hat-trick of Ballon d’Or plaques. He was the undisputed best of the world, the inheritor of a golden legacy and the ambassador of football’s most avant garde footballing philosophy of this century.
Contrastingly, Mbappe was barely 20 when he became World Cup winner; four years later, he would net a hat-trick in the final, a losing cause but one where his gifts dazzled, and claimed the golden boot, though it offered him negligible consolation. Yet, his club career has not shone as brightly as it was touted to be, as it could be. The numbers are glittering, six league titles, five with PSG and one with Monaco, 243 goals in 332 games, some of them truly spectacular, but beyond that there is nothing. No legacy, no romance, just an excellent player racking up goals and gulping titles in arguably the most uncompetitive of the top-five leagues in Europe.
When PSG acquired in 2017, they considered him the most central piece of their project, their catalyst of glory, their own Messi or Maradona, their legacy-setter, their synonym. It did not unfold as they had anticipated, and in little time, PSG became a moneyed laughing stock, an emblem of infinite wealth spent unwisely, a collection of jewels who sparkled individually and fizzled out whenever strung together. Dominating France was a stroll; but in Europe they were shown their real place, as it is expected with a club with neither structure nor system.
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe stops to sign autographs for fans as he leaves the Paris Saint-Germain training complex. (AP Photo)
The sustained directionlessness frustrated Mbappe the most. Those around him, like Neymar and Messi, had achieved all they could, scaled the highest peak club football could offer, cemented the legacy. For Mbappe, he of insatiable ambition, Paris was a stumbling block, a boulder preventing him from fulfilling his dream, destiny and destination, which is turning up for Real Madrid.
For him, it was always about being a Galactico. In his comic-strip autobiography Je M’Appelle Kylian, Zinedine Zidane and Criano Ronaldo visit him in a dream, and Zidane hands him out a sparkling white-kit of Real Madrid. He plays keepie-uppie with them. In the school, when a teacher asks him about his best friends, he rattles out the names of Ronaldo, Zidane and Sergio Ramos. Later, in interviews, when asked about who he wants to be, he would say: “If you’re French, obviously you would have grown up with [Zinedine] Zidane as your idol. After that, it was Criano.”
Speculation is mounting as to where Mbappé will play his first game of the season. (AP)
At PSG, he was stagnating, even though he was getting richer. He is the highest paid footballer in Europe, pocketing 100 million pounds a year, and the third highest in the world. But money, beyond a point and if you have hoarded as much as to last for several generations, it becomes a meaningless pursuit. That is what Mbappe wants in his life: a meaning, a direction, the joy and challenge for turning up for the biggest club in the world, the most successful club in the Champions League, relish in the burden and honour of carrying the mantle of Zidane and Ronaldo, or those of the ‘original’ Ronaldo and Alfredo Di Stéfano. Mbappe, in PSG, is stifled, a shadow, an apparition, singing like a caged bird.
The ties between Mbappe and PSG have soured too, with letters being swapped and him being left out of the preseason tour to the Far East. It has reached a stage where the dissent is mutual, a separation is inevitable, but a divorce difficult to pull off. PSG’s standing is clear too—he has to either go this year or go for a fee at the end of next season. They would not let the best player in Europe for free.
France’s Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates after scoring a goal. (AP)
The biggest hindrance in the move away from PSG is that there are few clubs that could afford him, both the wages and transfer fees. But PSG are desperate for a transfer because his contract will run out at the end of next season, and he could end up leaving the club on a free transfer, besides they would have to pay a loyalty bonus of around 50 millions pounds if he stays back for the coming season.
Even for Real Madrid, coughing up such ludicrous sums (PSG want 200 million pounds no less) would necessitate the selling of other prized assets, which would invariably create imbalance. Moreover, they have spent close to 150 million pounds already this year, with young midfielder Jude Bellingham amassing the bulk of it.
Kylian Mbappe. (AP Photo)
The only other stalwart of Europe that could afford him is Manchester City, who have been long-time admirers (then, who is not?). But Pep Guardiola is well stocked with attacking riches, and his is not an individual-as-an-idol-centric side. Mbappe too would struggle to fit into his everyone-plays-everywhere role, more so as the Frenchman has openly talked about his desire to occupy a more central role, where City already have the insuperable Erling Haaland. Chelsea too have the means and a whimsical owner, but they have already spent monstrously.
So most likely, he would endure another frustrating year at the PSG. Maybe, the new coach Luis Enrique could unlock his full potential. Maybe, the departure of Messi and the possibility of Neymar’s exit could make him the one-man talisman he aspires to be. Maybe, he would warm the bench for most of the season. Whatever be, Mbappe promises many more headlines this coming football season.