Wantaway PSG attacker Kylian Mbappe has dreamt of playing in La Liga but Barcelona reportedly wanted to make that wish come true in Catalonia instead of Madrid.
The French superstar is all but destined to leave the Ligue 1 champions after refusing to renew his current deal past 2024, which means he has entered the final year of his deal. The Qatari-owned club, who are infuriated by this latest development, do not want to lose the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner for free and are desperate to sell him this summer.
However, there is one huge problem. Mbappe holds all the cards and his dream of joining Real Madrid will likely see him run down his contract at the Parc des Princes before moving to the Bernabeu on a Bosman transfer.
However, this has not stopped Barcelona from attempting to lure him to Catalonia. According to Foot Mercato, the Spanish champions made an audacious offer for the Frenchman which includes three highly-rated players in exchange.
The first should come as no surprise. He is none other than Ousmane Dembele, the tricky winger who has already decided to leave the Blaugrana for PSG. According to the report, a reputable agent visited Les Parisiens and offered the winger plus two other players in exchange for Mbappe. The French giants, however, turned this down as they were not interested in the other two.
But who were those two others? One was Raphinha, which is surprising as that would leave Xavi without a right-sided winger. The other was allegedly Gavi, which also raises a few eyebrows, as he is one of Barcelona's golden boys, alongside Pedri.
An interesting thing was pointed out by Foot Mercato. This offer was not made recently and while the Ligue 1 champions turned it down, this rekindled their pursuit of Dembele. The former Dortmund sensation has been on Les Parisiens' radar for some time and this offer from Barcelona hinted that the player was open to a Parc des Princes move.
As a result, things have backfired tremendously for the Catalan giants. The club failed to steal Mbappe from under Real Madrid's nose and they appear destined to lose their star Frenchman, with Dembele informing the Spanish champions of his desire to move to Paris. The two teams have to agree on a fee but his exit looks to be a matter of when, not if.
