Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has accepted a staggering world record bid of €300m (£259m) from Al-Hilal for their star player, Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, whose contract is set to expire in one year, has been made available for sale by PSG and has been left out of the pre-season tour of Japan. The French club took this decision after the player informed them of his refusal to sign a new contract or accept their one-year contract extension option.
Previously, PSG presented Mbappe with a choice to either agree to a 10-year contract offer worth €1 billion (£864m/$1.1bn) or be sold in the current transfer window.
Al-Hilal has been granted permission by PSG to negotiate with Mbappe after submitting a staggering €300 million (approximately $332.4 million) bid to secure his signature.
The main reason behind PSG's acceptance of the bid is likely to avoid losing Mbappe for free next year. Al-Hilal has already made significant signings, including Kalidou Koulibaly and Rúben Neves from English Premier League clubs.
If the deal is finalized, it will surpass Neymar’s €200 million transfer from Barcelona to PSG as the most expensive in football history. Additionally, the Saudi club's offer would reportedly make Mbappe the highest-earning player in the world, with an astonishing annual salary of €700 million.
Mbappe, who joined PSG from Monaco in 2017 for €180 million, has maintained his status as one of the world's top players. He gained prominence with Monaco in 2015, helping the team win the Ligue 1 championship and earning recognition as the league's best young player. With PSG, he secured four national titles and played a crucial role in France's 2018 FIFA World Cup victory.
As of now, Mbappe, who is PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 212 goals in 260 appearances, remains the second most expensive player in history, only behind his PSG teammate Neymar.