Real Madrid have tabled a major bid for PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
What's the latest transfer news involving Kylian Mbappe?
According to Romano, Real Madrid have tabled a €160m (£137m) bid for PSG star Mbappe, who wants to make the switch to the Bernabeu.
On Tuesday night, Romano told his followers on Twitter: "Kylian Mbappé wants to join Real Madrid. This summer or next summer as free agent, he wants to make his childhood dream come true.
"That’s why he’s turning down PSG new contract bids. NO English clubs in the race. Real offered €160m. NO green light from PSG as of now."
Of course, there is now less than a week remaining of the summer transfer window, so this deal could well go down to the deadline next Tuesday.
A new chapter for Mbappe?
With Lionel Messi swapping Barcelona for PSG this summer, there is now a vacancy for being the flagship star of La Liga, while Mbappe has arguably become only the third-most important player at his current club - behind the serial Ballon d'Or winner and Neymar.
Likewise, Mbappe has already spent four seasons at PSG and during that time, the French giants haven't fulfilled their ultimate objective of winning the Champions League - however they did reach the final in 2019/20.
Last term was a step backwards for PSG as they only made the semi-finals of the competition and lost the Ligue 1 crown to Lille.
Perhaps now is the right time for Mbappe to make a change and place himself in a different context.
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Economic stupidity from Real Madrid?
Messi's summer move has given Real Madrid a fantastic chance to quickly re-establish themselves as the most dominant force in domestic Spanish football, which is perhaps why they're looking to push through the Mbappe deal now.
But their £137m offer seems bizarre considering the France international will be available for a free transfer next summer and they'd be able to negotiate pre-contract terms with him at the end of January.
All of this follows Real Madrid publicly revealing last month that the club are still in debt, albeit now only to the tune of €46m (£39m), and president Florentino Perez insisting in April that the creation of a European Super League was crucial to the club's financial survival.
It seems absurd that Real Madrid can't wait twelve months for Mbappe to avoid paying a single fee that would eclipse the transfer budgets at the vast majority of clubs across Europe in this transfer window.