Saudi Arabia Reportedly Offers $1.1 Billion for Kylian Mbappe - Saudi football club Al-Hilal is preparing to make a $1.1 billion investment to sign forward Kylian Mbappe from French club Paris Saint-Germain, according to multiple reports. Al-Hilal's proposed deal includes a $332m transfer fee paid to PSG and a $776m one-time salary paid to Mbappe, CBS Sports' James Benge reports. The one-year deal will allow the 24-year-old Frenchman to play in Saudi Arabia before joining Real Madrid next summer, as he is reportedly keen to do. The $776 million salary announced by Mbappe will be the highest for an athlete, more than the current $674 million over four years Lionel Messi received from FC Barcelona in 2017. Saudi Arabia's rise into football began last year when Cristiano Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr for $214m per year over 2.5 years.
In June, Al-Hilal said it offered Messi a three-year, $1.6 billion contract before he took a small fee to join Inter Miami in the MLS. Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr are among the four clubs of the Saudi Pro League organized last month to be majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi government. Mbappe's contract with Paris Saint-Germain earns him $128m per year. The reported Mbappe deal between Saudi Arabia and PSG, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, will mark an agreement between the two oil-rich countries in the Middle East to invest billions in the upcoming games.
