LaLiga president Javier Tebas has said Real Madrid could afford to sign both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland next summer.
Madrid failed with a series of bids for Mbappe, 22, last month as they tried to prise the France forward — who has a year left on his contract — away from Paris Saint-Germain.
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The LaLiga club offered €160 million and €180m and were willing to pay €200m but their efforts were frustrated by PSG’s refusal to negotiate.
Madrid have also been keen on Haaland, 21, with the Borussia Dortmund star’s father and agent holding talks with the club — as well as Barcelona — earlier this year.
“Madrid have sold €200m worth of players,” Tebas said on Monday, speaking at an event hosted by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance. “They have the money to sign Mbappe and Haaland together. They haven’t made losses, and what’s more, they’ve made sales.”
Madrid allowed Martin Odegaard to join Arsenal and Raphael Varane to move to Manchester United this summer as they looked to fund a deal for Mbappe.
They have not paid a transfer fee for a first team player since 2019, and careful financial management saw them post a narrow, €874,000 profit for the 2020-21 financial year despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“What isn’t understandable is that [PSG], who have losses of €400m and a wage bill of €500m, are able to reject offers like the one they received for Mbappe,” Tebas said. “The controls in France are failing. They’re doing damage to the European market. UEFA’s system is mistaken. We’re going in the wrong direction.”
He added: “We have to attract investors, but not with unlimited contributions and constant losses. It wouldn’t be allowed in other sectors. They’d prefer to win the Champions League while losing a billion. Their fans would be happy, but you’ve ruined football. It’s very dangerous.”
By contrast, Tebas was more positive about Barcelona’s figures, despite president Joan Laporta revealing last month that the club’s total debt had topped €1.35 billion.
“The important thing isn’t the debt you have, it’s the capacity to repay it,” Tebas said. “They bring in a billion euros, they have a ratio of one-to-one. That’s better than 70% of teams in Europe, better than PSG, than Premier League teams… We think tough financial control rules benefit Barcelona’s sustainability.”