Home ›› 26 Aug 2021 ›› Sport
Harry Kane announced on Wednesday he will remain at Tottenham this season, ending speculation over his future with Manchester City interested in the England captain.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe is on the verge of leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid as the Los Blancos made an offer of 160 million Euros for the 22-year-old Frenchman.
Madrid offer for Mbappe ‘not enough’
Paris Saint-Germain turned down Real Madrid’s bid to prise away Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday, with sporting director Leonardo saying the offer of around 160 million euros was “not enough” for a player they wanted “to keep”.
“Our position has always been to keep Kylian, to renew his contract” which expires next June, said the Brazilian to some media including AFP.
He went on to describe the Spanish club’s approach to the France World Cup winner as “disrespectful, incorrect and illegal”.
Leoonardo went on to say that if the 22-year-old Mbappe “wants to leave, we will not retain him, but he will leave or stay on our terms”.
“If a player wants to leave, he will leave. The club, the project, remain above everyone,” added the Brazilian leader, addressing some media including AFP. But “we have done everything” to convince him to stay.
PSG paid 180 million euros to Monaco for the forward in 2017 and are keen for him to sign a new deal.
After the arrival of Lionel Messi in Paris earlier this month club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said Mbappe “has no reason to do anything else” but stay.
Mbappe has scored once and provided two assists in three appearances so far this term with Messi expected to make his PSG debut at Reims on Sunday.
After the arrival of Lionel Messi in Paris earlier this month club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said Mbappe “has no reason to do anything else” but stay.
Real Madrid have been setting themselves up for a blockbuster deal for a couple of years now that saw players like Raphael Varane, Martin Odegaard and James Rodriguez leave to raise funds for the Frenchman. With Eden Hazard failing to deliver despite his hefty price, Madrid need a superstar to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Earlier, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had said that Mbappe’s transfer does not matter to him as he has a strong squad at his disposal.
“It doesn’t matter to me (Mbappe joining Real). I have a very good squad, strong. I want to coach it. I’m very happy. I’m focused on the team I have,” the Italian said.
Mbappe seems to be focused on moving to the Spanish Capital as he has rejected at least three contract renewal offers from PSG. Supposedly, it’s the Frenchman’s dream to don the white kit, and he had also previously insisted on joining them before eventually joining PSG in 2017.
Mbappe’s contract runs out next year meaning that Real can sign a pre-agreement with him in January that would allow him to join the Los Blancos for free in summer 2022.
Kane opts to stay
Kane had made clear his desire to leave his boyhood club in the quest to end his wait for the first trophy of his career.
However, the 28-year-old was warmly welcomed back by the Tottenham support as he made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in a 1-0 win at Wolves last weekend.
“It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” he posted on Twitter.
“I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success.”
Kane is Tottenham’s second top goalscorer in history with 221, just 45 off the record held by Jimmy Graves.
Yet, his prolific record has not been able to end the north London club’s 13-year wait for silverware.
He still has three years left to run on a six-year contract signed in 2018 that left Spurs chairman Daniel Levy with the leverage to demand a fee well in excess of the £100 million ($137 million) Premier League record City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish earlier this month.
Levy will be hoping keeping hold of Kane can help fire Tottenham back into the Champions League next season after missing out for the past two years.
Spurs have made a bright start under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, beating City 1-0 without their star striker on the opening weekend of the season before extending their 100 percent start at Molineux.
