‘99% chance’ Mbappé joins Real Madrid – LaLiga chief Tebas،
La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Friday there was a “99% chance” that Kylian Mbappé would join Real Madrid this summer.
ESPN reported on Monday that Mbappé and Madrid were in talks – with the club optimistic of a positive outcome – after sources told ESPN that the France international had informed Paris Saint-Germain of his intention to leave for his contract expires in June.
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“Knowing that he is leaving PSG, there is a 99% chance that Mbappé will sign for Real Madrid,” Tebas told French newspaper L'Équipe. “But I don’t know if he’s signed yet.
“This is excellent news for Real Madrid and for Spanish football. [Mbappé] is one of the best players in the world. In my opinion, [Jude] Bellingham, [Erling] Haaland and Mbappé are the three most dominant players on the planet, and two of them play for Real Madrid.
Tebas has an often contentious relationship with Madrid and club president Florentino Pérez, with the two men having previously clashed over Madrid's support for the European Super League, as well as LaLiga's handling of the league's revenue from television rights.
However, the La Liga president praised Pérez's financial management, which allowed Madrid to negotiate a costly deal for Mbappé.
“Real Madrid is a club in an optimal financial situation,” Tebas said. “President [Pérez] and general manager [José Ángel Sánchez] are very good managers, even if they are very bad when they want to organize new competitions.
“At the moment their financial results are very good and they can spend a lot more than they do. Madrid have been very prudent financially, they have prepared the signing of Mbappé… They don't need to sell anyone to allow themselves to sign Mbappé.”
Mbappé has long been Real Madrid's main transfer target, with the club set to sign him in 2022, before the striker opted to renew at PSG.
If his transfer to the Bernabeu is finalized, he will join a Madrid team already boasting stars such as Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior. Madrid are six points clear at the top of La Liga.
Tebas has insisted signings like Mbappe are not needed for La Liga in its bid to keep pace with the Premier League.
“Recruiting great players is a boost, but it is not essential,” Tebas said.
“Of course it's better to have big names. Having coaches like [José] Mourinho or [Pep] Guardiola is useful. But players like [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Neymar or [Lionel] Messi is gone and the championship is still going well. Despite this, Mbappé will help us consolidate everything we have achieved.”
