French Ligue 1
Kylian Mbappe holds transfer talk on Liverpool owner’s private jet!
Kylian Mbappe is the subject of intense transfer speculation after the Paris Saint-Germain sporting director confirmed the Frenchman’s intentions to leave.
According to UK’s Mirror, Real Madrid have already made a £140million bid for the World Cup winner, which has been rejected by PSG.
The Ligue 1 giants are holding out for a fee of around £170million, but the onus is on them to sell this summer given the fact that Mbappe is out of contract in 2022.
Mbappe has made it clear he has no intentions of signing a new contract in France.
Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo told RMC: “Kylian Mbappe wants to leave, that seems clear. If he wants to leave, we will not stop him, but on our terms.”
If PSG refuse to sell Mbappe for a fee this summer then they risk losing him on a free next season. Mbappe has previously been linked with a move to Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp a big fan of the striker and the Frenchman an admirer of the Champions League and Premier League-winning boss.
In fact, Mbappe was close to joining the Reds from Monaco back in 2017, with French publication L’Equipe claiming the forward held a two-hour meeting with Liverpool owner John W Henry.
The meeting is said to have taken place on Henry’s private jet, with the American flying Mbappe and his family over the bay of Nice and the surrounding area as they discussed the youngster’s future.
Speaking in 2018, Klopp said of Mbappe to RMC Sport: “I love him, to be honest. What a player he is and a nice lad as well, so he’s a really good kid. What a player, what a player.
“Everyone knows him since he was 16, 17, when he impressed in Monaco’s youth teams, and I saw videos of him when he was 17 and he destroyed defensive lines as he is doing now.
“He’s at an unbelievable level of consistency at that age. He’s an outstanding player, that’s clear, but he can deliver, deliver and deliver, which shows he’s really good educated boy and he knows what he is doing.”
Mbappe, meanwhile, said of Klopp in 2020: “This season, Liverpool have been a machine in the Premier League.
“They have made winning look easy but the truth is that it is never easy.
“Performances, like they have been having, don’t just happen. To be as ruthless as they have been would come from lots of hard work in training and from having a very good manager.”
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
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