Although PSG’s incredible €222 million bid for Neymar has dominated much of the narrative in the 2017/18 summer transfer window, Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe is absolutely the man of the moment.
The Brazilian is now 25 and has had four years at Barcelona already, and whilst a move to Ligue 1 can only ever be seen as an economical one for him, it’s understandable to a degree why he would want to extricate himself from the shadow of the world’s best player, Lionel Messi.
Mbappe’s situation is entirely different. At 18, he is seven years Neymar’s junior and only signed his first professional contract just over 500 days ago.
It’s hard to fathom that within the space of 18 months, he can command a fee somewhere in the region of €180m.
His 27 goals in 59 matches certainly had the whole of Europe talking, and he was a natural figurehead in a swashbuckling, quixotic Monaco side.
Utterly fearless with breath taking speed, great movement and intelligence, there is a feeling that he does have all of the tools to go right to the very top of the tree.
But does he need to get there right now?
We’ve seen players in the past seduced by one of the European super powers before they’ve completed their footballing education.
An embarrassment of financial riches obviously appeals, but should they be taken at the expense of allowing the teenager to develop at his own pace?
It’s stating the blindingly obvious but the pressure to perform at the Santiago Bernabeu will be like nothing Mbappe has ever experienced before.
Even club stalwarts such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos have had to plead with their support to stop whistling and booing them – and that was in a season (2016/17) when Real won their first La Liga / Champions League double in 59 years!
Can those that have overseen his trajectory, particularly his parents, really be happy to allow him to leave a team that have studiously monitored his development to this point, and have always had his best interests at heart?
Ultimately it will be the will of the player that determines whether he stays or goes but he has to be advised to put the financial recompense to one side and fully understand the bigger picture.
It would, of course, be a thrill to see such a talent not just survive, but thrive at the highest level, but let’s hope we don’t look back in years to come thinking ‘too much, too soon.’
