Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal aim to lure Kylian Mbappe with world-record £259m bid

Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal have submitted a world record 300 million euro (£259m) bid for Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe’s looks certain to leave Paris this summer or next, with the 24-year-old left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.

Now, Al Hilal have submitted a bid in writing for Mbappe, who is out of contract next summer, and have permission from PSG to speak to the player.

Sources close to the French club say there has also been interest in the player from other European clubs in recent days.

The current world record transfer fee was paid by PSG, when they signed Neymar from Barcelona for a deal reported at the time as £200m in 2017.

Transfer speculation has surrounded Mbappe since it became clear he would not activate a one-year extension in his contract with PSG which would have tied him to the club until 2025.

While he has gone on record about his intention to stay at PSG, the club would risk losing him for nothing next summer if no new deal is signed.

The French champions, who are owned by Qatar Sports Investments, have already seen Messi leave for nothing, and are determined to earn a fee for a player who is widely considered capable of taking over from Messi and Ronaldo as football's biggest star.

PSG are understood to be certain that Mbappe has agreed a free transfer to Real Madrid next summer, with Parisian sources saying he would benefit from a 160m euro (£138m) signing-on fee if he moved to the Spanish capital for nothing.

A sale this summer would enable PSG to secure a return on their investment in Mbappe, who they signed for 180m euros from Monaco and retained last summer on a lucrative new contract amid earlier interest from Real.

Al Hilal are one of four Saudi Pro League clubs who are now majority-owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund with assets under management reportedly worth over £500 billion.

The club – along with three others under majority control by the PIF – have invested heavily in the European transfer market this summer but the acquisition of Mbappe – arguably the best player on the planet at the current time – would be the biggest statement of Saudi Arabian strength yet.

In December Cristiano Ronaldo signed a $200 million (£156 million) deal with PIF-owned Al Nassr, following his departure from Manchester Untied, in a move described as "history in the making".

Meanwhile Saudi-funded LIV golf has been shaking up the world of professional golf, agreeing on a shock merger with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour.

The moves are part of efforts by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to leverage the kingdom’s oil wealth to provide new jobs and opportunities for Saudi Arabia’s youth.

However, critics have dismissed the efforts as “sportswashing”, in an attempt to clean up Saudi Arabia's image.

The kingdom is one of the world's top executioners and is accused by Amnesty International of sentencing people to death for a wide range of crimes following grossly unfair trials.

It is known for harsh crackdowns on political dissent and free speech. US intelligence agencies believe Prince Mohammed ordered the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism for its persecution of LGBT people and its treatment of women as second-class citizens, while outside its borders it has been waging a war in Yemen for many years.

Its record on human rights prompted backlash which eventually led to FIFA reversing plans to allow Visit Saudi - the country's tourism authority - to become a major sponsor of the Women's World Cup.

Despite such controversies, Saudi teams have been going into overdrive by targeting leading names from Europe's top leagues ever since Ronaldo's signing in December.

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Real Madrid great and current Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema signed for Saudi champion Al-Ittihad last month and has been joined by 2018 World Cup winner N’Golo Kante.

Roberto Firmino, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marcelo Brozovic are among other big names to head to the lucrative Saudi league.

Earlier this year, Al-Hilal failed in an attempt to sign Messi, with the Argentina great choosing to join Inter Miami instead.

While he couldn't be convinced after leaving PSG, more stars are expected to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo.

Premier League players like Riyad Mahrez and Jordan Henderson have recently been linked with moves from Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively. The reported salaries and commercial deals for Ronaldo, Benzema and Kante could earn them a combined figure of nearly $1 billion (£780 million).