Al-Hilal has been granted permission to talk with Kylian Mbappe after making a world-record £259 million bid for the Paris Saint-Germain star.
The 24-year-old France captain, who has a year left on his contract, has refused to sign an extension with the French champions and has been left out of the team’s pre-season tour to Japan.
PSG would rather sell Mbappe now than let him depart for free next summer.
The current record is Neymar’s £200 million transfer from Barcelona to PSG in 2017.
PSG activated Neymar’s release clause, making him the most expensive player in the world.
Mbappe, who joined PSG from Monaco for £166 million in 2017, will have commanded two of the three highest sums paid for a player if he moves.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, and Barcelona have all indicated interest in Mbappe, who has already stated that he expects to leave PSG for free at the conclusion of next season and prefers a transfer to Real Madrid.
PSG are open to the possibility of Mbappe departing on loan this summer to finish out his deal elsewhere.
This would allow him to join Real Madrid for free in a year’s time, play the rest of the season, and produce a loan fee for PSG.
Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has stated his intention to take a harsh line, and there have been reports that Mbappe would not be picked for the full season if he refused to resolve the current deadlock. That would certainly have a detrimental influence on his chances of representing France at Euro 2024.
Al-Hilal is one of the clubs owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. This summer, they have already signed Ruben Neves from Wolves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea.
