Los Angeles: Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro refused to be drawn on speculation the European champions are set to smash the world transfer record for 18-year-old Monaco sensation Kylian Mbappe, but insisted the Frenchman’s arrival wouldn’t spell the end for Cristiano Ronaldo at Madrid.
Madrid sports daily Marca reported on Tuesday that Real are set to beat a host of European rivals including Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City with a bid of up to 180 million euros (Dh949.3 million) to snap up Mbappe, who starred as Monaco won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
“Mbappe is not a Real Madrid player so I can’t speak about him,” said Casemiro, who faced the media on Tuesday rather than coach Zinedine Zidane on the eve of Real’s friendly clash against Manchester City in Los Angeles.
According to the Marca report, Real are set to pay between €150 and €160m with add-ons of between €20 and €30m for Mbappe, dwarfing the current world transfer record of 105m Manchester United paid to lure Paul Pogba from Juventus last year.
Reports in the French press earlier claimed Zidane had told Mbappe one of Real’s star ‘BBC’ front three of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema or Gareth Bale could be sold to ensure the teenager gets enough time on the field should he move to the Spanish capital.
