Saudi Mbappé bid even less rational than it looks


Source: reuters.com reuters.com

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LONDON, July 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wants to be taken seriously as a soccer force. Hence state-backed club Al Hilal’s approach for French star Kylian Mbappé. Yet a possible outlay of 1 billion euros, including compensation, takes the country’s sporting tactics to surreal new heights. At first glance, a widely reported 300 million euro price tag is expensive but not necessarily egregious for Mbappé, who currently plies his trade for Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain. Such a transfer fee would imply that the 24-year-old is about three times as valuable as recent Arsenal recruit Declan Rice. That...