In a sign of how far-reaching the coronavirus situation has become, particularly in relation to football matters, Real Madrid might well be able to sign one of their long-standing transfer targets for well below the expected outlay.
Writing in AS, Tomas Roncero speculated that Paris Saint-Germain star, Kylian Mbappe, could be sold for as little as half of the €300m it has been suggested the player would normally cost.
Real Madrid, and their president, Florentino Perez, in particular, do appear to love a Galactico signing, and Mbappe is arguably one of the few genuine world class talents playing today.
Aside from his contract with the French giants running out in 2022, Roncero notes the well-documented fallings out that the Frenchman has had with his coach, Thomas Tuchel.
Somewhat ominously, he also references Mbappe’s words at last year’s Ligue 1 gala. “I need to feel like the leader of an important project. I hope it’s in Paris but if not, it’ll be somewhere else…”
It’s hard to believe that PSG will let Mbappe go without a fight, but equally, they can’t risk letting him get into the last few months of his contract without an agreement of any kind.
If Real are able to execute any deal for around the €150m mark, they will have bagged themselves a bargain.