According to sources in France, Kylian Mbappe and his family are in “advanced talks” about perhaps taking over a club that he was on the verge of joining in 2013.
The World Cup winner will be introduced as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday, July 16, after his dream move to Los Blancos was announced last month.
In honour of his arrival, more than 80,000 spectators will be treated to a spectacular fireworks display, live music, fire effects, and a catwalk that runs from the Bernabeu locker room to a large stage.
Away from the pitch, Mbappe and his family seem to be finalizing an agreement to purchase Stade Malherbe Caen, a Ligue 2 team, according to French outlet Ouest-France.
After American asset management company Oaktree Capital Management notified the club’s minority stakeholders that they would be leaving the club’s ownership, Caen is currently searching for new backers.
The majority ownership of Caen is something that Mbappe’s family firm, which is intimately involved with his mother Fayza Lamari, is interested in obtaining.
As stated in the preceding news, negotiations are actually at a further advanced stage.
Kylian Mbappe would have become a Caen player
In 2013, Mbappe was close to signing a contract with Caen, but the agreement collapsed after the team was demoted from Ligue 1. Instead, he joined AS Monaco.
Speaking to the French publication Maville in 2013, Laurent Glaize, the head of Caen’s youth recruitment, discussed scouting Mbappe at an early age.
“At first, it was our Parisian network that called us,” he said. “He assured us that he had seen a phenomenon. We sent our recruitment manager to Paris to see him play at Bondy.
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“He confirmed. Then David Lasry (then youth recruiter at SM Caen and assistant to Glaize) went to see him. David didn’t usually get too excited. Then, he called me, he was crazy: ‘Laurent, I have the future Ballon d’Or in front of me!’
“Kylian was barely 12 years old. Technically, he already knew how to do everything. He had incredible dribbles, and above all he did them quickly. He had the game intelligence of a 15-16 year old guy. He was still small and thin obviously, but the potential for athletic development was obvious.”
Glaize added: “In my entire career, frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
