With a total cost in the region of £490million including transfer fee and player wages, Arsenal are highly unlikely to be realistically able to afford to make a serious pitch for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe in the summer transfer window, despite being the latest among the clubs to be linked with a shock move for the Parisian superstar.
Arsenal are facing the harsh reality of the true cost of completing a deal to sign Mbappe as his wage packet itself borders around £104million. The French forward has informed PSG that he has no desire to activate the option of extending his current contract by a further year, which expires in 2024.
his latest decision by the French star has triggered off yet another spiel of transfer news and rumors at the Parc des Princes with the owners taking the clear stance of Mbappe either signing a new deal or be sold this summer. Real Madrid, as always in the case of the France star, have emerged as the most likely destination, although there is currently no clarity yet on the Spanish giant’s affordability to sanction a move.
Chelsea and Arsenal are among the Premier League sides also being touted as potential alternatives although in reality the finances involved in accomplishing such a humongous deal are astronomical. Former Gunners striker Alan Smith has warned his old club about the dire pitfalls of potentially shattering their wage structure to sign Mbappe.
Smith told Gambling Zone: “I would think that the chances of Mbappe joining Arsenal are extremely unlikely.
“The money that it would take to sign him would be astronomical. I think the only place he can go is Real Madrid.
“I think that’s the only place and that is probably the place that he wants to go as well. Financially, we know the club is run really well.
“I think Arsenal would be very conscious of the wage structure they have in place, which needs to be tightly controlled,” he added. Smith is right in that any club willing to sign Mbappe would need to fork out a huge transfer fee and then be committed to making the Frenchman the highest-paid player in the squad.
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol outlined the giddying figures involved in striking a deal to sign Mbappe, saying to Sky Sports: “There have been lots of stories, I’ve seen stories linking him with Liverpool in the past, with Arsenal as well, but the numbers involved to be able to sign and satisfy a player like Mbappe are astronomical.
“He earns about £2million-a-week, how many clubs in the Premier League are there who could afford to pay him? I think his signing-on fee, loyalty bonuses – you’re talking about £100million for that as well.”
PSG are allegedly demanding a transfer fee in the region of £180million for Mbappe this summer despite the contract now running into the final year, albeit the possibility of the French club softening their stance given that they do not want to lose the 24-year-old on a free transfer next summer. However, be that as it may, they would most assuredly want to recoup a huge amount of the £165million price they paid to sign him from Monaco in 2017.
Hence, say if Arsenal seriously aspire to step into the rarefied stratosphere of the superclubs and make a serious pitch to sign Mbappe on a three-year contract this summer, the Gunners would have to be prepared to fork out in the region of £490million including transfer fee and player wages. The mind-boggling deal, although highly unlikely, would see Mbappe be paid nearly £1.3million-a-week more than the likes of Bukayo Saka and Co.