Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Battle Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe

For the most part, the idea of Liverpool signing Kylian Mbappe next summer has been a joke, or a dream, or something somewhere in between. Few genuinely expect Liverpool, backed by a new Nike kit deal, to splash £200M-plus and land him.

However, today at least there are reports via Spain’s El Desmarque that claim the Reds of Merseyside are Real Madrid’s only legitimate competition for the 20-year-old superstar who currently plies his trade in his home country with Paris Saint-Germain.

Perhaps the half joke, half dream nature of all the #Mbappe2020 stuff got lost in translation. Or perhaps, just maybe, the Spanish outlet are hearing things from the Madrid end about Liverpool being a genuine threat to the Spanish giants signing him.

It’s probably the former, but it says everything about Liverpool’s renewed standing that, well, it might not be. Or at least that, were Liverpool to decide to spend in the region of £215M and break their wage structure, Mbappe could be a realistic target.

Meanwhile, Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane recently ruffled feathers at PSG when he claimed his club are Mbappe’s dream destination, which PSG sporting director Leonardo called “a bit irritating,” adding this was “not the first time this has happened.”