Barcelona to fight Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe after ‘holding meeting’ with Monaco prodigy in quest to replace Neymar
Barca to go head-to-head with rivals Real Madrid in move for teen star
BARCELONA will rival Real Madrid in the world record pursuit of Monaco prodigy Kylian Mbappe, according to reports in Spain.
The La Liga giants see the teenager as a perfect replacement for Neymar - who continues to be linked with a world record move to Paris Saint-Germain.
According to , Barcelona will hold a meeting with the 18-year-old.
The young French international, who is also wanted by Manchester City, is expected to cost around £160MILLION to lure from Ligue 1 champions Monaco.
Mbappe broke onto the world stage last season with a stunning debut season.
With the Neymar to PSG deal expected to be resolved by next week, Barcelona a desperately searching for a replacement.
Philippe Coutinho is one option, although Liverpool have tried to scare the Catalan club off with a massive £134million price-tag.
Eden Hazard has also been linked - but Chelsea boss Antonio Conte completely rejected the idea of him leaving.
Kylian Mbappe factfile
- Born in Bondy, a suburb of Paris, on December 20, 1998
- Joined Moncao in 2013 after two years at the famed French national football centre, Clairefontaine
- Made his Monaco debut on December 2, 2015 - beating Thierry Henry's 21-year-old record to become the club's youngest ever player aged 16 years, 347 days
- Scored his first goal for the club in February 2016 and become Monaco's youngest ever scorer aged, 17 years, 62 days, once again beating a Thierry Henry record
- In February 2017, become the youngest player since 2005 to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick, aged 18 years and two months
- Took the Champions League by storm, helping Monaco to the semi-final of the competition with six goals in nine matches
- Finished the season with 26 goals in all competitions and was named in the Ligue 1 and the Champions League teams of the season
- Made his France debut in March 27 against Luxembourg - becoming the second youngest French player ever (behind Maryan Wisnieski) at 18 years, 3 months, 5 days
He said: "He is very happy to stay with us and to play for Chelsea. He will be here next season.
He scored 26 goals in all competitions to help Leonardo Jardim's team win Ligue 1 and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Mbappe was named in both the Ligue 1 and Champions League teams of the season - he also made his France debut in March.
