Real Madrid praying Lionel Messi joins PSG over Man City so they can land top transfer target Kylian Mbappe
REAL MADRID are hoping Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City to sign Lionel Messi as it will leave the door open for them to secure Kylian Mbappe.
Messi, 33, tried to force a move away from the Nou Camp last summer but ended up agreeing to see out his contract until the end of the 2020-21 season.
PSG and Man City are said to be leading the way in their pursuit of the Argentinian, but according to Marca the Ligue 1 champions would need to sell Mbappe in order to bring Messi in.
Mbappe’s contract with PSG runs until the summer of 2022 which means the club could be forced into selling him in the next window to avoid the World Cup winner leaving on a free in 12 months time.
In addition, Financial Fair Play rules would effectively make it impossible for the Champions League runners-up to keep Mbappe and Neymar on their books while also adding Messi.
Real Madrid have been linked with Mbappe for a number of years, even before his loan transfer to PSG from Monaco in 2017 – a move which became permanent the following year.
It is no secret that Los Blancos see the 22-year-old as the potential successor to Karim Benzema, who has led the line for them for more than a decade.
Mbappe has not stopped scoring since joining PSG for £165million.
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The lightning fast forward has netted 86 times in 95 appearances for the French side.
Mbappe also has 16 goals in 39 games for the France national team, a tally which includes four at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which they went on to win.
Meanwhile, Messi has netted 16 goals in 25 games for Barcelona so far this season.
The Catalan side are currently ten points off La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid and have struggled for consistency under Ronald Koeman.