Real Madrid is the odds-on favorite to pull Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain. The capital club could sell the 24-year-old this summer to avoid losing the player on a free transfer.
However, can the Spanish club have a competition for the Frenchman? CBS Sports reporter Jonathan Johnson elaborated on whether he sees a Premier League club jumping into the race for the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, whether it’s this or next summer.
“I think it has to be a Premier League club to compete with Real Madrid,” Johnson said on the latest episode of PSG Talking. “Real are sort of the emotional choice and obviously the strong favorites for Mbappé at some point later on in his career.
“There’s also been sort of the long-standing interest from Liverpool as well, so I wouldn’t completely write that off. I think whoever it is coming in from the Premier League would have to be a club who sort of almost guaranteed to be playing Champions League year in, year out.”
La Liga is less competitive than the Premier League, so barring drastic seasons, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are usually guaranteed to finish in those top four UEFA Champions League spots. Nonetheless, Johnson did give one club he sees as the English club that could come out of the pack and make a run at Mbappé.
“If Liverpool were back sort of as one of the Premier League title contenders and in the Champions League, I think that they would have a good shot at [landing Mbappé],” Johnson continued.
“That said, we’re talking about all these kind of hypotheticals and still think that the overwhelming favorite to get Mbappé will be Real Madrid. I don’t see the point in Mbappé leaving PSG for a club that’s not Real Madrid, given that there’s been such importance placed on the Spanish Giants over the years.”
If it’s Real Madrid, the Spanish club could offer a piece to go the other way to soften the financial fee blow, they might have to pay for Mbappé, like a Vinícius Júnior that could entice PSG.
