Barcelona club president Joan Laporta believes Real Madrid ‘have a problem’ with the impending signing of Kylian Mbappe.
The France forward will leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires this summer and is in talks with Madrid regarding a lucrative switch to the Spanish capital.
But Laporta has sought to stir the pot prior to Mbappe’s expected move to Madrid, claiming Barca’s bitter rivals are at risk of ‘distorting’ the dressing room and potentially needing to sell players to facilitate this transfer.
When asked by Mundo Deportivo if he would ‘envy’ Madrid signing Mbappe, Laporta replied: “Not at all, not at all. Also, I don’t know if they will or won’t. We’ll see.
“They have a problem there. You have to sell a player [if Mbappe joins], right? Because they’re not both going to play in the same place and they’re also very strong players.
“And speaking of the numbers that will be there, this distorts the locker room for sure. That’s not a gift.”
90min revealed last month Mbappe turned down PSG’s contract offer worth €70m-gross-per-year and handed back €80m in waived bonuses.
Madrid, meanwhile, want to offer Mbappe terms similar to those suggested when he was entering free agency in 2022 – a €30m yearly salary plus €130m in signing-on fees, as well as the chance to compete in a more high-profile market in order to earn further sponsorships. However, Madrid are reluctant to allow Mbappe to play at his home Olympics this summer.
In addition to Mbappe, Madrid are also looking into the signing of Alphonso Davies, whose contract at Bayern Munich expires in 2025. Bayern’s stance is either the Canadian pens a new deal in the coming weeks or he will be sold this summer – Madrid have agreed an outline on personal terms with the left-back over a move either this year or next.
