Al Hilal has stunned the football world with a world-record bid of £259m to secure the services of Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, as the French champions face a contract standoff with the star player.

PSG has put Mbappe up for sale and notably excluded him from their squad for the pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, indicating their preference for players committed to the club. Al Hilal's offer, surpassing any previous transfer fee, stands as the most remarkable among a mix of bids received by PSG for Mbappe, which include cash-plus-players offers.

The 2018 World Cup winner has declined the option of a 12-month contract extension with PSG, and instead, plans to leave the club as a free agent at the end of the upcoming season, with Real Madrid reportedly being his likely destination. Sources have revealed that a move to Real Madrid next summer could yield Mbappe a €100m signing-on fee and an €80m bonus this September if he chooses to stay with PSG.

Al Hilal's audacious bid not only makes Mbappe the costliest player in history, surpassing the record-breaking €222m PSG paid for Neymar in 2017, but it also highlights Saudi Arabia's ambitious drive to attract top talents to their football league. Players like Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, and Roberto Firmino have already made high-profile moves to Saudi Arabia's lucrative league, following Ronaldo's deal with Al Nassr.

Despite PSG's efforts to find an acceptable offer for Mbappe, his potential departure to Real Madrid has led them to consider Al Hilal's staggering bid. Reports suggest that Al-Hilal's offer includes a one-year contract, allowing Mbappe the option to join Real Madrid for free in 2024, with the Spanish club being the only side capable of triggering that clause.

The breakdown of Al-Hilal's eye-watering contract offer for Mbappe is as follows:

€700m per year

€58.33m per month

€1.9m a day

€79,900 an hour

€1,332 a minute

€22 per second

The emergence of the Saudi Pro League in football has raised concerns and has astonished the football community about the future of the sport, as Al Hilal's offer for Mbappe marks a new level of spending and ambition prompting discussions about how this move could reshape the landscape of football. This move has sparked debates about the potential impact on Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, and the dynamics of European football.