Real Madrid looking to send two messages to Kylian Mbappe before contract talks

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe have been a swirling tornado of rumours in the last few days, with all of the outcomes suggested at some point. Yet the general line of reporting coming out of Madrid is that no offer has been made to the French forward by Los Blancos.

That is what Relevo are reporting, but as is the case with other outlets, it is not for a lack of desire to sign Mbappe. Contingency plans will be made, and Real Madrid will not throw their entire budget at Mbappe, but they do want to sign Mbappe.

All of that being true, Los Blancos also want to set the terms of negotiation. Florentino Perez intends to offer Mbappe less money than in 2022. Given the explosion of Jude Bellingham, and the impending arrival of Endrick have lessened the need for the star power signing of Mbappe. The two messages they want to send to Mbappe are clear: this time Real Madrid are not desperate to sign you, and if you want to sign for us, put your money where your mouth is.

Mbappe’s camp circulated that no deal was done with any clubs thus far, and that he would not be pressured into making a decision ahead of time. There has been a general consensus from all three sides that it would be good to wrap the deal up before the end of the January transfer window, but nearly a third of the way through, with little progress, it seems likely the saga could continue on beyond that cut-off point.