For football, the coronavirus pandemic will be a game-changer that transfer of players will be greatly affected. A European politician views the upcoming changes as improvements, in which big-name players like Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe will see a significant drop in market value.
The PSG star is tipped to make a move in the summer and his rumored destination is either Liverpool or Real Madrid. Wherever the Frenchman will end up, the recipient club will need to pay up the asking price set by the Parisians - a whopping £250 million.
However, the COVID-19 spread will drastically alter the transfer picture in the Old Continent, according to Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a member of the European Parliament. The French politician said Mbappe and all the other professional footballers will see a huge drop in value when the outbreak starts to retreat.
By the estimates provided by Cohn-Bendit, Mbappe will only be valued at £35 million post-coronavirus period. Mirror said the depreciation will be around 86 percent or purchasing clubs will get a discount of more than £200 million from the original asking price.
"This crisis will clean up the irrationality of professional sport. It's like there was a nuclear attack and it had to be rebuilt, but on other grounds ... There will be de facto regulation. Going even further on a salary cap could be necessary. It is a reorganization that goes not only through the players' salaries, but also through the right to images and publicity," the politician was reported as saying.
Cohn-Bendit sees the future of professional sports in Europe and possibly in the rest of the world having a greater emphasis on sobriety and simplicity following the lessons that will have learned in the aftermath of the global health crisis, the report added.
Meanwhile, Sport Bible said a deal between Mbappe's camp and Real Madrid is believed to be in the final stages. This was the latest information shared by Jerome Rothen, citing sources from PSG.
According to the former PSG player, the 21-year-old is nearly confirmed to leave Parc des Princes as he stressed that "there is no way that Mbappe will extend his contract with PSG."
"They will have an agreement between them in place because PSG agreed to let him go this summer. In my opinion, it's just a question of time," Rothen was reported as saying.
He noted though that the deal taking effect is a different story. The former footballer said that in anticipation of the problems to arise due to the pandemic, it's quite possible that Mbappe's jump to Santiago Bernabeu will be delayed in a bit.
The same report also indicated that apart from the World Cup winner, Real is looking to make a bid on Erling Haaland, who is currently making waves in Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
