While AS Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has questioned Kylain Mbappe’s one-year loan to Paris Saint-Germain, hinting that it could have broken French league financial rules, he has also called the move “the most successful in world football”.
The 18-year-old striker moved to arch-rivals PSG on Thursday, Augsut 31, in a season-long loan deal with a 180 million-euro buy-out clause, making him the second most expensive player of all time behind his new teammate Neymar.
“We (Monaco) could not understand to the very end whether this deal was really possible as UEFA had questions to PSG about their compliance with financial fair-play,” Vasilyev told Russian news agency TASS. “It was a very tough deal,” he added. “Initially, we did not want the footballer to strengthen our opponents.
“But I think this deal appears to be the most successful one in the world of football.”
PSG secured Mbappe less than a month after signing Brazilian superstar Neymar from Barcelona for a world record of 222 million euros. However, Europe’s football ruling body UEFA has opened a “formal investigation” into PSG’s dealings over the transfer window. Ominously, UEFA president Alexsander Ceferin said on Monday, September 4 that “Nobody is above the law”.
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