'Barcelona preferred Dembele, then Coutinho': How Barca rejected Kylian Mbappe's advances

Javier Bordas, a former director at Barcelona, has made a startling assertion on Kylian Mbappe's earlier refusal to join Real Madrid. For the Catalan club, Bordas managed a number of significant transfers. Bordas has acquired the services of players like Luis Suarez, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, and others. According to him, he spoke with Mino Raiola about bringing Mbappe to the Blaugrana.

“I spoke with Raiola at the time, and he was ready to sell him for €20 million. But he wanted a commission of €20 million as well, and I was just a simple manager who proposed things, but there was a technical team that had to fit him in.”

“It would have cost €100 million. We wanted a replacement for Neymar and Mbappe offered himself. He did not want to move to Real Madrid because of the presence of the BBC (Benzema, Bale, Cristiano) trio, but Barcelona preferred Dembele, and then Coutinho.”

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How Barca rejected Kylian Mbappe's advances

Bordas continued by saying that Mbappe was hesitant to join Los Blancos due to the presence of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The player wanted to play for Barcelona, but the Blaugrana trusted Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho. Consequently, a move was never made. Bordas declared

In the end, Kylian Mbappe signed with Paris Saint-Germain. He has been quite productive with the French club, contributing 98 assists and 211 goals in 259 games. He also holds the record for most goals scored by a Parisian club. While Kylian Mbappe initially expressed little interest in moving to Real Madrid as a teenager, the attacker has since been mentioned in connection with a transfer to the Spanish capital. Last summer, he appeared prepared to sign with Los Blancos. He did, however, unexpectedly extend his contract with PSG. The summer of 2023–2024 will mark the end of his current contract. Mbappe, meanwhile, apparently has no desire to activate the extra year.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup champion has reportedly been linked with Los Blancos in recent publications. Mbappe might end up signing with Los Blancos as a free agent if he doesn't renew his contract in 2024.