Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid broke down because Manchester United never made a formal approach to sign Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale over the summer, according to reports.
The Frenchman appeared set for a move to the Bernabeu after a spellbinding campaign with AS Monaco and reports from Spain claimed that Zinedine Zidane was willing to offload Gareth Bale in order to make room for the 18-year-old to feature alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. And Jose Mourinho, in turn, made it clear that he would attempt to sign Bale if it was clear that he was indeed surplus to requirements at Madrid.
However, having seen Bale feature for Madrid during their UEFA Super Cup win over United, the Portuguese then conceded that the Welshman – who has since started every game for Los Blancos – was very much part of Zidane’s plans for the new season.
And Mbappe, in turn, has joined Paris Saint Germain for what will be a £153m fee next year, making him the second most expensive footballer of all time. He could have moved to Madrid but a combination of the Champions League winners stalling, PSG tabling a lucrative offer, Zidane’s reluctance to let Bale go the other way, and United’s refusal to shell out an astronomical figure for the 27-year-old convinced the teenager that he would receive more game time at the Parc de Princes this season.
