Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal makes record $332 million bid for soccer star Mbappe

DUBAI — Saudi Arabian soccer team Al-Hilal announced a world record-breaking bid of $332 million (300 million euros) for French forward Kylian Mbappe on Monday. 

Mbappe’s current club, Qatari-owned French side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), confirmed that the formal offer for its player took place, according to The Associated Press. It has given Al-Hilal permission to open negotiations directly with the player.

Fabrizio Romano, an Italian soccer journalist and transfer market expert, wrote about the news on Twitter highlighting the significance of the bid.

“Understand it’s worth €300m — record fee,” he wrote in a tweet from his personal account on Monday. He added that PSG is convinced that Mbappe already agreed to terms with Real Madrid and has made contact with them already. 

Shortly after news of today’s bid, French daily L’Equipe reported that PSG’s Qatari owners are ready to accept the proposal. 

The move takes place after PSG excluded the striker from their squad for the pre-season Japan tour, and also as relations between Mbappe and PSG have worsened, according to Reuters. The French striker said in June that he would not renew his contract that expires at the end of the next season. 

PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said at the time that the club will not let him go for free after spending $200 million to sign him. 

If the Al-Hilal transfer is successful, it will break a record set by PSG, which previously signed the most expensive player in the world, Neymar, from Barcelona, in 2017 for 222 million euros ($262 million). 

The previous record of $116 million (105 million euros) was set by Manchester United in pursuit of bringing Paul Pogba back from Juventus.