LeBron James among NBA stars that wants Saudi move after rumored Kylian Mbappe offer
The reported offer from Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal to Paris Saint-Germain for superstar forward Kylian Mbappé took the sports world by storm Monday, with initial reports saying that Mbappé could be paid $776 million for just one year in Saudi Arabia.
To put the staggering amount in context, LeBron James' total NBA earnings over his entire 20-season career — most of that spent earning the maximum salary possible under league contract rules — is $531 million, per Front Office Sports.
It should be no surprise, then, that James among the NBA stars that took a sudden interest in playing in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo also jokingly tried to do by posting a selfie to social media Monday saying Al-Hilal is welcome to take him instead due to his resemblance to the France icon.
Mbappé has yet to publicly comment on the Al-Hilal offer or PSG's reported attempts to sell him after leaving him off the squad for their preseason tour of Japan.
However, he did appear to get a good laugh from Antetokounmpo's post.
Soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano clarified Monday that Mbappé's proposed contract would be valued at roughly $221 million per year paid directly from the team, with the remaining money coming from commercial licensing deals.
Romano also said there are no ongoing discussions between Mbappé and any team from Saudi Arabia at this point, though PSG reportedly willingly accepted the transfer fee worth nearly $332 million to make a potential move possible for Mbappé.
PSG is seemingly trying to force Mbappé to depart the team now so the club can recoup a transfer fee for its star player after Mbappé informed the team he would not extend his contract past the 2023-24 season. PSG believes Mbappé has already agreed to a free transfer with longtime suitor Real Madrid that would take effect next summer, according to Romano. That would allow Madrid to avoid paying PSG any fee to release him from his contract as he would be a free agent.
This is not the first big swing Al-Hilal has taken amid a stunning exodus of European soccer stars to the Saudi Pro League over the past several months, headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo. Al-Hilal reportedly offered Mbappé's former PSG teammate Lionel Messi a contract worth $442 million per year earlier this summer before he instead joined MLS side Inter Miami.
