Kylian Mbappe's 'pay-cut' revealed as Liverpool target nears Real Madrid move

Liverpool target Kylian Mbappe is set to take a significant pay-cut to force a move to Real Madrid this summer, according to the latest reports.

Mbappe, 25, will see his contract expire in the summer after spending six years at the club. During that time, he's become one of the world's very best and developed into one of the most potent and dangerous attackers. 244 goals and 105 assists and 13 trophies in Paris is an astonishing record but there is very much a case of unfinished business in Europe's other top five leagues - but the Premier League will have to wait.

According to Foot Mercato, Florentino Perez has already confirmed the deal, and it's said that Perez has shared the news of Mbappe's signing with the Real Madrid squad. Real are close to confirming a pre-agreement with Mbappe and reports are now revealing more details about the move, including the financial side which is important to note for Liverpool fans given that money is the reason they can't secure this signing. As it stands, Mbappe earns a reported £22million-a-year but he is set to see that drop by around £10m.

Even with the pay-cut, he is set to be the highest paid player in Madrid and the La Liga president Javier Tebas recently spoke about the move that is now close to being done: "I said [the chances] were around 50 per cent some weeks ago, now it's even more. 55-60? Yes, I think so. Every day that passes and Mbappe does not sign the new contract with PSG, the percentage increases. I don't know the costs of the Mbappe deal but in any case, Real have an excellent financial situation. They never did crazy things in the recent years."

In terms of Liverpool and their highest paid players, Mohamed Salah put pen-to-paper in the summer of 2022 to become the highest paid Liverpool player in history by signing a new three-year contract thought to be worth around £350,000 per week. That sees him sit within the top crop of players in the Premier League but moving for Mbappe would mean they would have had to break their wage structure - something which the typically frugal Fenway Sports Group would never greenlight.