Unraveling mega deals and dilemmas: Kylian Mbappe and the Saudi Arabia offer

Another day another highprofile Champions League player being offered a kingrsquos ransom to move to Saudi Arabia Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have surrendered NrsquoGolo Kante has signed up too and although Lionel Messi rejected overtures and headed to Inter Miami instead Sergio Busquets Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Kylian Mbappe are among others being consideredWhile AlNassr now have Ronaldo AlIttihad have signed Benzema and Kante Al Hilal pursued Messi and want Aubameyang and Mbappe and Al Shabab too are after Aubameyang Kante has been offered about euro100mn pound86mn per year Benzema and Ronaldo are being paid about twice that offer and the sum offered to Messi surpassed even those numbers Mbappersquos proposed AlHilal deal which with a fine commercial agenda is worth a potential pound770mn something that would be far beyond the generous leveraging facilities that a super club like Real Madrid has to offerMeanwhile AlHilal on Wednesday completed the signing of Malcom Filipe Silva from Zenit Saint Petersburg on a fouryear deal The 26yearold winger had played the past four seasons for the Russian clubAlso Read Saudi Arabia lures another soccer star as Steven Gerrard agrees to manage AlEttifaqIt is worth noting that there is a longheld ambition in Saudi to host the FIFA World Cup with a potential bid for 2030 being worked on Reports have claimed talks were held with Egypt and Greece over a joint bid The countryrsquos leader Mohammed bin Salman can see the political gain in playing the hosts after being marginalised by other nations for Saudi Arabiarsquos actions most importantly the bombing of Yemen and restrictions imposed on womenrsquos rightsSaudi Arabia is attuned to how sport could ameliorate the countryrsquos profile and arouse interest among the youth The Saudis have a huge football addict base but frequently their eyes wander to the European game which has made the domestic league a sideshow time and again In the past their big name signings have been over the hill or signings who would not have attracted the same attention in Europe The country has a young and energetic demographic that can be tapped into and star names will concentrate their minds on domestic matters The ambition to produce an advanced football structure from top to bottom will be realised too in the processRonaldo Messi Benzema and Kante are no more in the prime of their careers but Madrid still didnt want to let go of Benzema Barcelona also were keen to bring Messi back and Chelsea have been in continuous talks to extend Kantersquos contractRegardless of accusations of lsquosportswashingrsquo Saudi Arabiarsquos aim is to become a global sporting hub sooner rather than later with growing involvement in international read European football and other major events such as Formula One golf and boxingThe 2027 Asian Cup is nearly official there is a neverending bid for the 2026 Womenrsquos Asian Cup and there are reports of a World Cup bid coming soon conceivably along with Egypt and GreeceMuch on the expected lines AlHilal was to hold initial talks with Fayza Lamari Mbappersquos agent and mother early this week according to three people with fair knowledge of the offer who spoke on condition of anonymityIt is likely that the club will have to commit hundreds of millions of dollars more in salary to persuade the 24yearold who is regarded as the likely heir to Ronaldo and Messi as the finest player in the world to bid adieu to Paris for another team in what was most recently ranked as soccerrsquos 58th strongest domestic leagueShould the deal go through it would make Mbappe the most expensive player in the history to a great extent cutting a sorry figure to the 263 million PSG paid for his Brazilian teammate Neymar six years agoThe official bid was sent to PSGrsquos chief executive Nasser AlKhelaifi on Saturday It was signed by Al Hilalrsquos chief executive and it confirmed the price the club was prepared to pay and requested permission to discuss salary and the length of a contract with Mbappe Furthermore some news outlets reported on Monday that PSG had granted the requestLet us be honest to ourselves hereIt cannot be guaranteed that Mbappe is even interested in a move According to the Associated Press he has refused even to enter into any formal discussions This is after all one of the worldrsquos outstanding forwards and there is an understandable hesitation to decamp to an uncompetitive league with a smallscale international audienceMbappersquos future has been the subject of active speculation since the start of June when the player informed his club that he intended to see out the final year of his current deal and walk away as a free agent in 2024 PSG in return has insisted that it will not contemplate losing such a prized possession for nothing informing him that he must sign a new contract or face an uncertain futureHere is one of the worldrsquos greatest footballers essentially trapped by his own successful numbers much like Messi before him Of all the worldrsquos top clubs how many could realistically even afford him Not Liverpool or Arsenal not Bayern Munich or Juventus and barely Madrid who have already pledged around pound860m to the refurbishment of the BernabeuHowever on a more serious note there is a heartbreaking inefficiency within a market that compels its top performers to make a painful decision between accepting a substantial pay cut or facing significant limitations on their ambitionsAnd so in effect it makes very little difference if Mbappe ultimately decides to move to AlHilal or not The structures and power imbalances that generated his predicament are perfectly capable of generating othersWise and sane minds have spent years warning that this was footballrsquos inexorable future Now is the time Truly it is Inescapable to say the leastDisclaimer The author contributed to this article in her personal capacity The views expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation