Kylian Mbappé's contract at PSG expires at the end of the season(Image: Getty Images)

Michail Antonio shares Kylian Mbappe to Liverpool transfer theory

Kylian Mbappe continues to be linked with a move to Liverpool during the January transfer window with the France forward looking set to leave PSG

05 Jan 2024, 15:13 by Tom Cavilla · Liverpool Echo

'I'm going to ask you a question' - Michail Antonio has Kylian Mbappe Liverpool transfer theory

Bookmark

West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has ruled Liverpool out of the race to sign Kylian Mbappe, insisting Manchester City are the only Premier League club that can afford the Paris Saint-Germain star.

Mbappe is currently free to negotiate with foreign clubs over a deal due to his current contract expiring at the end of the season. The Frenchman again finds himself at the centre of a transfer saga, though there is less certainty over the 25-year-old extending his stay in Paris this time.

Liverpool have long been admirers of the forward and held talks with the prolific goalscorer in 2017 ahead of the player's move from Monaco to PSG. Recent reports in Mbappe's home country have indicated the Reds' interest has not gone anywhere and that Jurgen Klopp's side are in the running for his signature alongside Real Madrid.

Weighing in on the Mbappe transfer talk, Antonio has raised doubts over Liverpool's ability to broker a deal due to wage demands of the 2018 World Cup winner. Speaking on the Footballer's Football Podcast with host Rickie Haywood-Williams, the Hammers' striker said: "I’m going to ask you a question: I don’t want the Liverpool fans firing shots. I’m going to ask you a question, you’re going to answer it and then I’m going to answer. Can Liverpool pay the salary?"

Responding to this, Haywood-Williams remarked: "I don’t know the finances of FSG. But if you go by the model in which Liverpool do their business, it’s just not what we do. We buy players on the cusp of becoming great and they get moulded by Klopp. We don’t buy the finished article. As much as I would love Kylian Mbappe at Liverpool, surely he’s going to Real Madrid."

Antonio added: "That’s exactly what I was going to say. If he’s going anywhere, it will be Real Madrid. If he’s coming to the Premier League, it’s going to be Man City. They are the only two clubs that are going to be paying the wages. There is no-one else.

"They [Liverpool] put £100m down for Caicedo, but I’m not talking about the fee. I’m talking wages. The guy is coming on a free. Wherever he lands, I’m saying nothing less than £500,000 a week. I feel he is going to leave PSG."

Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.