Fabrizio Romano believes Paris Saint-Germain duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will not end up at Manchester United as long as the Glazers are still in control of the Premier League giants.
Then again, this will come as no surprise, really.
The reports linking both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe with shock moves to Manchester United over the last few weeks made it clear that the PSG duo would only be an option if Sheikh Jassim’s takeover bid proved successful.
The Ligue 1 champions are, as you might have noticed, owned by fellow Jassim’s compatriots; PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s role in a prospective Jassim-led takeover becoming clear in recent weeks (The Athletic).
According to El Pais, Jassim’s camp held talks regarding a potential Old Trafford move for Mbappe earlier this year. Mbappe’s PSG contract expires in 2024. And the France international has made it painfully clear that he has no plans on signing an extension; Real Madrid currently his most likely destination.
The Neymar situation is a little different. While PSG would move heaven and earth to keep Mbappe in Paris, the likelihood is that they would bite Man United’s arm off at the elbow if the Premier League giants offered to take the Brazilian’s eye-watering wages off their books.
Mbappe and Neymar linked with Manchester United moves
But, as Romano points out in conversation with GiveMeSport, any serious discussions over Neymar and Mbappe are on the backburner until United get some much-needed clarity about their ownership.
“What we can say is that, with the Glazers, this is absolutely not a topic,” Romano explains. “For sure, they are not working on that (Mbappe) or Neymar.”
Sheikh Jassim made a fifth and supposedly ‘final’ bid for Man United at the start of June (BBC). Both he and rival bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe are yet to find out, however, whether their offers have been accepted with CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs pointing out that both parties are being ‘readied to win’.
“I understand Manchester United fans being tired about the story. But it is about closing the deal,” Romano adds.
“It’s on the Glazers. I think Sheikh Jassim did his best with his bid. He’s convinced his bid is very good for the future, so let’s wait and see.”
Mbappe and Neymar cost PSG a combined fee of around £350 million.
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