Jul 25, 2023

PIF's ludicrious Kylian Mbappe bid two years on from laughable Newcastle United transfer myth Newcastle United fans were once accused of wanting to sign Kylian Mbappe after the takeover was given the green light - Now the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund are seeking his signature for another club 08:00, 25 JUL 2023 The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Play now Invalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info Thank you for subscribing! Invalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up × As the takeover celebrations went long into the night on October 7, 2021, football fans began to joke that the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo would soon be plying their trade at St James' Park. Despite the tired myth that fans on Tyneside were actually expecting Mbappe to arrive at Newcastle, there may have been a very small section of the Geordie faithful that actually believed a signing of that magnitude was possible in the near future. Now less than two years later, Newcastle's majority owners, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund [PIF], have made an extraordinary offer for Mbappe's services. Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, 75 per cent of which is owned by PIF, have this week submitted a £259m bid for PSG's superstar striker, according to reports. A mere £41m less than the entirety of Newcastle United cost the Saudi investment fund. It is a ludicrous deal on the face of it. A £259m bid, which PSG have accepted, and a reported £604m annual salary for just ONE season in the Saudi top flight. It is believed Al Hilal will allow Mbappe to leave in 12 months time, despite signing him permanently, to join Real Madrid. Essentially they would be spending almost £1bn in total for a glorified season-long loan deal. The 24-year-old heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's greatest has made no secret of his desire to join Real Madrid. With his PSG deal running out in 12 months, Mbappe has refused to sign an extension and instead could arrive at the Spanish giants on a free next summer. This Saudi deal means the PSG would avoid the embarrassment of losing their biggest asset for free. But is it right? The Saudi top flight is now brimming with talent after PIF bought majority stakes in four Pro League clubs - Al Hilal, Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr. Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Roberto Firmino and many more household names will join Ronaldo in the Middle East this season after swapping the glitz and glamour of Europe for a new, lavish project in Asia. Meanwhile, Newcastle face scrutiny back home for deciding to sell Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli this summer. There is concern among rival clubs that the Magpies need to offload their only real sellable asset this summer and have found a convenient buyer with another PIF-driven club taking the Frenchman off their hands. Others see it a different way. With Saint-Maximin leaving Tyneside for roughly £10m more than Newcastle paid for his services five years ago, fans suggest Eddie Howe's side are being slightly ripped off. Newcastle are still finding ways to navigate Financial Fair Play this summer but the 'richest club in the world' tag has long been dropped when talking about Howe's side. The former Bournemouth boss consistently reminds the media and fans his club are still working under strict financial conditions. The proof is there to see. Newcastle's aforementioned lack of sellable assets and a host of fringe players being on lengthy, inflated contracts has not made life easy. Neither has the total disregard to build viable and lucrative commercial revenue streams under Mike Ashley. Newcastle are still playing catch up in that respect. But PIF are having no such issues in Saudi Arabia. With FFP not existing outside of European football, the continent's biggest names are being poached for eye-watering, life-changing sums on money. Even Jordan Henderson, who has long spoken out about LGBT issues, could join fellow Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the Middle East. Howe, meanwhile, continues to stress his side are abiding by strict guidelines set out by the Premier League. "We are governed by the same rules that every other Premier League club is - we will, I’m sure, fit every criteria needed to make sure the deal is above aboard," he said over the weekend. For that reason, the Newcastle boss and fans of the club will no doubt lose little sleep over Mbappe joining the Saudi revolution. But should we begin to ask, or even accept already, if football as we once knew it is close to being lost forever? Story Saved You can find this story in   My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow ChronicleLive