Kylian Mbappe is among the best soccer players on the planet. Blending blistering pace, and a keen eye for goal, the Paris Saint Germain forward could play for any team of his choosing.
However, hardly any team could afford Mbappe’s transfer fee. In soccer, teams don’t make trades. Instead, they purchase the rights to a player courtesy of a ‘transfer.’
According to multiple reports, Saudi Arabian soccer team Al-Hilal have thrown their hat into the ring in an attempt to sign Mbappe this summer. The reported transfer offer is for $332M.
To put that into context, Al-Hilal is willing to spend more on Mbappe than what Michael Jordan paid when he originally acquired the Charlotte Hornets for $275M in 2010.
This is roughly a little bit more than what Michael Jordan originally paid for the whole Charlotte Hornets franchise… https://t.co/dxT2WEPq2a
— Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) July 24, 2023
“Paris Saint-Germain have granted permission for Kylian Mbappe to speak to Al Hilal after the Saudi club’s world-record £259M [$332M] bid,” Sky Sports UK reported. “There is said to already be a “hot market” for the France captain with the interested clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona.”

When Jordan parted with $275M, he was buying a whole franchise — an investment that recently saw him sell his shares for $3B. However, in the world of soccer, where large quantities of money exchange hands like Pokemon cards on early-2000s playgrounds, Mbappe’s price appears to be deemed fair.
Should Mbappe’s transfer to Al-Hilal go ahead, he will become the most expensive soccer player of all time. While Mbappe’s transfer fee falls drastically short of an NBA franchise’s value in 2023, it’s mind-boggling to think he is worth more than what an NBA franchise cost just 13 years ago.
The Hornets were once one of Jordan’s most expensive purchases. Now, $275M wouldn’t even build a high-level soccer team. The sporting world is changing, and Mbappe is reaping the benefits of those changes.
News
Hoop fans were bummed they couldn’t play as MJ in ‘NBA Live.’ Here’s why
THESE days, the franchise has long been eclipsed by 2K Sports’ NBA 2K series, but back in the late ‘90s, NBA Live was the basketball game to beat. As the 1996-1997…
Michael Jordan: Why He’s a 6-Time Finals MVP, 6-for-6 Champion and G.O.A.T.
Michael Jordan is the only player in NBA history to never score less than 20 points in any of his Finals games but that is just one…
14 Amazing Tales of Michael Jordan Being a Hypercompetitive Weirdo
As the ESPN documentary The Last Dance proves over and over, Michael Jordan’s life and career are full of stories that would be hard to believe if there weren’t…
A history of Michael Jordan in video games
Michael Jordan is a name that’s synonymous with basketball. Here’s his history with video games, which is as extensive as his professional career. Michael Jordan, a legend…
‘That’s where the game changed’: When Michael Jordan credited THIS player for taking the NBA to the next level
The TV series, “They Call Me Magic” dropped in 2022. It narrates the early days of the Lakers legend, Magic Johnson’s NBA journey, from high school to…
On this date: Michael Jordan makes his NBA debut for the Chicago Bulls
On this date, Michael Jordan started his NBA journey. However, his performance against the Washington Bullets was in no way a sign of things to come. MJ’s NBA debut…
End of content
No more pages to load