Al Hilal Saudi FC Submits Record USD 332 Million Bid for Kylian Mbappé

Saudi Arabia’s aims of creating a competitive soccer league are reaching a potentiality of actualisation with the country’s leading soccer club, Al Hilal’s, recent bid for French footballer Kylian Mbappé. Set at a shocking EUR 300 million, or USD 332 million, the bid breaks the previous world record fee of EUR 222 million, or USD 262 million, that brought Neymar to PSG. 

The 24-year-old has been left out of Paris Saint Germain’s preseason tour of Japan, awaiting the decision to transfer to Saudi Arabia or renew his PSG contract. Having previously publicly declared a desire to stay in Paris for the 2023/24 season, Mbappé’s reported dissatisfaction staying in France might just push the world-class player to take a different route, with two of his prominent options being Al Hilal and Spanish giants Real Madrid. 

While PSG may seem willing to sell Mbappé, the club has explicitly expressed they will not be allowing the player to leave for free, costing Al Hilal an additional EUR 700 million, or USD 775 million, for the move. Ultimately, the player has the choice of which club he plays for.