Kylian Mbappé: why he is the new world football phenomenon and will cost more than Lionel Messi

Of all the novel emotions that the European pass market will produce, those produced by the comings and goings of mbappe They will undoubtedly be the most dramatic and tear-jerking. Everything is set up for it: we have heroes and villains, indignation and manipulation will be felt, both money and rivalry abound and, as if that were not enough, there even appears a president willing to use the soap opera as a smoke screen!

One year after his contract expires, Paris Saint Germain faces a dilemma: either sell the French star now or keep him until next season with the risk that he will leave without leaving a euro for the club. Saying “risk” is an understatement: the player has already formally declared that he will not renew and intends to complete his remaining year in France.

Adding insult to injury, Qatari money has found new destinations. The European press reports that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani is in negotiations with the Glazer family, the owners of Manchester United, in order to acquire the club for 6 billion dollars. Qatar Sports Investments, the fund that owns PSG, which also depends on the emirate, is somehow reduced in its political-economic weight after having invested a fortune -1.3 billion euros- in an institution that did not achieve the self-imposed final prize: the Champions League.

It is worse for the Parisians, as the signings of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé not only did not achieve the promised break, but also left the sour feeling of disappointing the fans. It is a matter of expectation. Those who are promised the sky are not happy with anything that does not taste like clouds, and that disappointed possibility is what explains the continuous whistling and booing of the South American stars, who leave the City of Light unfairly mistreated and with a spirit of new or retired airs. golden. His games, however, mark the end of the cycle for Ligue 1: hardly another French club will be able to bring together the best players in the world, even if they are native. Macron’s intervention responds to this, as the weakening of the first division (and the sports country-brand) creates an opportunity to intervene for subordinate purposes. Making Mbappé’s future a matter of state is quite ridiculous, even from South America.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid rubs its hands. Mbappé is the perfect replacement for Benzema, he can be the key weapon that makes it possible to match Haaland’s dominance of Manchester City, with whom there is a generational rivalry, and he is the trophy-symbol dreamed of for years by the board of directors. Does the striker have other options? Manchester United is the only alternative. Two factors may be conclusive there. The first is if the purchase of the club is carried out with petrodollars, since the rest would in practice be a family negotiation. The second is Mbappé’s desire to measure himself in the most attractive league in the world with his only pair, which would attract not only global attention but also curiosity.

Madrid glory or English derby, that is the question.