The tactic to sign Mbappé

After Kylian Mbappé's hat-trick at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, ​​Madrid's public opinion has definitely turned towards the French forward to designate him as the chosen man on which to cement the Real Madrid project of the next decade. He already had that condition within the club itself, while in the fans other options, such as Haaland, were reducing focus to the PSG striker. Three goals at the eternal rival's home later, there are no doubts, but there is a question: How can Real Madrid sign Mbappé?

The price, as already estimated by the club and confirmed yesterday by 'Le Parisien' (a newspaper very close to PSG), will never be less than 200 million. That is, if PSG opens to negotiate, because at this time it is more in favor of the Rabiot Formula: namely, forcing Mbappé to end his contract, until June 2022, although not reaching the limit of sending him to the stands for six months as he did with the current Juventus midfielder in 2019. If PSG agrees to negotiate, three situations must come together so that the signing can be carried out: assume debt to finance the operation, give it a fit on the Madrid salary scale, freeing up space and raising everything possible through sales next summer (the plan is to get more than a hundred million).

The white club, like the rest of the greats of the Old Continent, is suffering economically for the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which has alienated the public from the stadiums and has caused a decrease in Madrid's income of more than 200 million euros: the 2019-20 budget was 822 million; that of 2020-21 is 617 million, 25% less. It is already evident that the public will not return to the stadiums this season (Madrid is already removing the grass to speed up the renovation works of the Bernabéu) and, despite having prepared a downward budget, the club plans to close the course with losses of 91 million, hole in the accounts that he tries to cover up by negotiating salary cuts with all the players.

Borrowing from Mbappé

And to top it all, personnel expenses have grown from 411 million last year to 448 in the present due to the evolution of the contracts (the players' files tend to grow with the passing of the seasons). Madrid managed to close last season with a minimum profit of 313,000 euros, although to compensate for the money available in the Treasury (which remained at 125 million as of June 30) had to request four credits for a total of 205 million. Therefore, gross debt grew by 235 million, to € 409M, and net debt (the difference that remains when subtracting what you owe from what you are owed and what you have in the Treasury) it stopped showing a positive balance and was placed at -241 million.

Conclution: Real Madrid is overcoming the coronavirus crisis with cuts and borrowing and that is the only path it can take if it wants to sign Mbappé. The club has authorized credit lines for 328 million that it has not made effective, but that it recognizes in its financial report as the most viable option to meet payment obligations. They are not designed for a signing of this magnitude, but they could serve as support and Madrid has the financial muscle and prestige before credit institutions to request more loans.

The reform of the Santiago Bernabéu would relatively affect the operation next summer, since Madrid will not begin to repay the 575 million euros of the loan with which it has financed the reform until June 2023; since then until 2049, will pay 29.5 million euros each year. The total bill, added interest, will be close to 800 million, but Madrid expects that the club's income, once the renovated stadium is operational (scheduled for 2022-23) and with the pandemic crisis overcome, will be between 800 and billion.

Furthermore, the lines of credit available to the club are long-term, ideal for undertaking the necessary renewal of the squad and balancing the accounts over the next decade. It would not be a new phenomenon, It already happened when Florentino Pérez returned to Madrid in 2009 and took the club into debt to sign Cristiano, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, Benzema …

Mbappé's salary, a problem

The real problem lies in Mbappé's salary. Real Madrid could reach 21 million net per season, which means 42 million gross per year; that is what the player is currently perceiving in PSG, which intends to renew and match him with Neymar, paying him 36 million euros clean per campaign. An unaffordable figure for Madrid at the moment. It is hoped that they will be able to compensate for this distance by giving them a better percentage of the footballer's image rights, which are usually shared 50% between club and player, but in the case of the stars, they are given a larger share.

The jump involved in going from being a PSG player to wearing the white shirt would trigger those income. If the decision is based only on economics, Madrid has a difficult time competing with PSG and other suitors, such as Liverpool (driven by the gigantic Premier League television contract); but in Valdebebas they trust to attract Mbappé with their sporting project and playing with the affection that the French has for the white club; As a child, his room was plastered with posters of Cristiano celebrating goals for Real Madrid.

Even if Mbappé accepted that salary of 21 million net, Madrid would need to make room in the salary mass, which for the moment it fights to keep under control until the pandemic subsides and income returns to what they were. The departure of Bale, who will have another year at Madrid in June and which involves an expense of 30 million per season, it would be a huge step in that direction; If Ramos does not continue, he will release a hole of another 24 million. And there are the Jovic, Ceballos, Isco, Marcelo or Mariano, players with ballots to leave and who would lighten the white salary burden, in addition to contributing money to the box with transfers.

Madrid intends to raise between 100 and 120 million in sales next summer. As a whole, the formula to sign Mbappé is to get into debt, collect everything possible, reduce salaries and expenses to fit the accounts and hope that the Frenchman will value the white sports proposal above another that will fill his pockets more. In favor of the white club the times play (It ends in 2022 and for the moment it has refused to sign the renewal) and that the situation of PSG also requires a serious adjustment: He lost 126 million in the 2019-20 season and plans to lose 240 this course if he does not seriously adjust expenses.