"How did your talk with Mbappé's father go at noon?"
At the Presidential Tribune of the Millennium Stadium, Real Madrid president Florentino asked Technical Director Valdano with concern.
Signing Mbappé was Real Madrid's most important operation of the summer, and there was no room for failure.
"It went well. He isn't opposed to Mbappé transferring to Real Madrid either, but there are still some disagreements over the details."
"Such as?" Florentino didn't seem concerned.
Problems were normal. That was why negotiations were necessary. If there were no problems at all, they could simply sign the deal.
"Setting Monaco aside, it'll be difficult for us to offer Mbappé the salary they're expecting."
"Oh?"
"Monaco wants to renew Mbappé's contract and has offered him an annual salary of eight million euros. That's more than their top star, Falcao, earns. But Mbappé clearly doesn't intend to stay in Monaco, while Paris Saint-Germain has privately offered him twelve million euros a year. That's something we can't afford to give him."
After hearing this, Florentino couldn't help frowning.
That was indeed the case. It would be difficult for Real Madrid to offer such a high salary because there were many factors to consider.
First, an annual salary of twelve million euros would disrupt Real Madrid's current wage structure. The size of the transfer fee was one thing, but if Real Madrid offered such a huge salary to an eighteen-year-old youngster, what would the other players in the squad think?
Ramos had applied pressure several times before precisely because he wanted a higher salary, and Real Madrid had ultimately given him roughly that amount. If Mbappé received such a high salary as soon as he arrived, what would Ramos think?
What would the other players think?
The end result would be that Real Madrid would have