We all love a good transfer saga. We might pretend that we don't, but there is something about the drama of it all that is too entertaining to ignore. And when it comes to transfer sagas, few players have been involved in more than Kylian Mbappé.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward was at the centre of a transfer storm in 2022 when he opted to sign a new mega deal at the club instead of joining Real Madrid, and then he found himself in another this summer when he told the club he would be leaving next year for free.
The ensuing weeks of back and forth between the two sides led to a mountain of clubs being linked to the star.
Still, he ultimately remained at the club, with reports suggesting that he has signed, or will sign, a one-year extension, meaning that if he is to leave next summer, clubs will likely have to pay close to the £259m offered by Al-Hilal in the summer.
With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of nine teams linked to the Frenchman in the last year or so and ranked them out of ten for plausibility and fit.
9 Tottenham Hotspur
Right, so kicking off our list is Tottenham Hotspur, and we'll admit that this does feel like a bit of a pipe dream – and that's being generous – but the idea of Mbappé donning the white of Spurs already seems less farcical now than it did just a few months ago.
That said, we haven't just plucked this one out of thin air, as during the summer, in the midst of the Harry Kane debacle, there were, in fact, reports suggesting that Daniel Levy and co had an interest in signing the French supremo.
We have to admit that the idea of Mbappé playing under the ever-entertaining Ange Postecoglou and thriving in his uber-attacking style of football is pleasing.
Ultimately, are the Lilywhites going to offer PSG the money required to sign their superstar? No. And is Mbappé likely to accept a team that can't guarantee Champions League football? Also, no, but it's an entertaining thought nonetheless.
Chances: 1/10
8 Manchester United
Moving onto our second Premier League team on this list, and unlike Spurs, a transfer to Manchester United now seems infinitely less likely than it did in the summer.
The Red Devils were coming off of a relatively successful campaign that saw them lift the League Cup and finish in third place, all in Erik ten Hag's first season in charge, so why wouldn't Mbappé want to join?
They are Manchester United, after all.
The same Spanish reports that revealed Spurs' interest in the Frenchman also mentioned United as an interested party in the summer, and with the way the three-time European champions spend money, why couldn't they sign him?
Well, a disastrous start to their campaign this season and an increasingly hostile atmosphere around the club has made a deal such as this seem practically impossible. That said, a front three of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, and Kylian Mbappé would be a goals-fest.
Chances: 3/10
7 Al-Hilal
So this is the first of the really dull options on the list, and the team we – along with most fans – really hope he doesn't end up joining, Al Hilal.
In the midst of his stand-off with PSG in the summer, when it looked as if he would be spending this season sat in the stands, Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal decided that they would blow the lid off of the transfer market and offer an eye-watering transfer fee of £259m to sign the Frenchman.
If the fee wasn't obscene enough, the club also offered the forward about €700m (£604m) to play in Saudi Arabia for just one year, a deal that would have truly signalled the departure of sense and reason from the sport.
Luckily, Mbappé refused the offer and opted to stay in Europe, but who's to say the Saudis won't come back with an even more earth-shattering offer next summer, one that Mbappé finds too good to turn down.
Chances: 4/10
6 Barcelona
Yes, for all of the links to fellow La Liga side Real Madrid over the last however many years, staunch rivals Barcelona made a play to sign the World Cup winner this summer when it looked like his future would be anywhere other than Paris.
According to FootMercato, the Blaugrana made an offer to the Parisian side that included three players alongside a cash offer. TalkSport has claimed that the players included were Gavi, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha.
We aren't surprised that this deal failed, and with Barca's well-documented financial fragilities, a deal for the number one player in Europe seems like an impossibility, especially as they were unable to re-sign their greatest ever player in Lionel Messi when he left PSG this summer.
That said, we would have loved to have seen the crowd reaction at the Santiago Bernabéu were he to turn up donning the blue and garnet of Barcelona.
Chances: 4/10
5 Arsenal
Back to these shores now, and alongside their north London rivals and Manchester United, Arsenal found themselves linked to Mbappé in the summer, somewhat surprisingly, it must be said.
The Gunners spent over £200m on their summer revamp, and so spending another £250m plus on the Frenchman was never really on the cards. Still, once it had been reported that the forward had said he would join the Premier League runners-up should he come and play in England, the rumour mill went into overdrive.
Now, that is it in terms of links to the club, but we can't help but imagine how utterly brilliant a front three of Gabriel Martinelli, Mbappé and Bukayo Saka would be.
That said, for as great a fit as this would be from an entertainment perspective, we really don't think this is a genuine possibility.
Chances: 4/10
4 Chelsea
We're staying in London for this one but moving from the north over to the west, as alongside the other English teams in this list, Chelsea were also rumoured to be interested in the 24-year-old this summer.
Now, we know we just said that the player himself has reportedly said he would join the Gunners were to come to England, but unfortunately, in this game, money talks, and while Arsenal aren't afraid to spend, the Blues take it to a whole other level.
Since Todd Boehly's takeover alone, Chelsea have spent close to £915m, so what's an extra £259m for the best player in the world?
Now, just as with every other Premier League team, this deal is unlikely – especially following Chelsea's start to the season – but if there is any club in European football that is happier to part with their cash, we don't know them.
Chances: 5/10
3 Liverpool
From west London to the northwest of England, and Liverpool are the next on our list of clubs linked with Mbappé.
Where the other English sides have only been rumoured to be after the player in the last year or so, the Red's potential interest goes back several years at this point.
In 2020, rumours suggesting that the Frenchman was on his way to Anfield were everywhere, but in the years since, those links have seemingly all but vanished.
However, amid the standoff between club and player this summer, the Mirror reported that the Reds could step in and offer the superstar the option of a one-year loan spell to help resolve things.
We know now that this report ultimately led to nothing, but that didn't stop the fans from dreaming and us from imagining just how good a three of Mohamed Salah, Mbappé, and Luis Diaz would've been.
While this deal seems a bit farfetched at the moment, the fact that Liverpool seem to have rediscovered their mojo this season can only help fuel the rumour mill.
They couldn't, could they?
Chances: 5/10
2 Paris Saint-Germain
Here we are at the second-worst option on the list, and one we really hope he doesn't choose next summer: staying at Paris Saint-Germain for another year.
Now, this might seem like an unlikely option for Mbappé given his actions over the summer, but if the reports suggesting that a new deal is in the works are accurate, then we can't rule out him opting to run down that contract as well.
If he decided to stay until summer 2025, he wouldn't leave Ligue 1 until he was 26 years old. While the French top-flight is entertaining, it isn't as competitive as the Premier League or La Liga.
Fans want to see the supposed best player in the world actually challenge himself every week.
Hopefully, this doesn't happen, and the new deal is just to help the club earn a significant fee, but based on his past behaviour, we have a sneaking suspicion he could stay in Paris for another two years.
Chances: 6/10
1 Real Madrid
Here we are, the club we think Kylian Mbappé is most likely to end up at next year and come on, who else was it going to be?
Real Madrid are the clear favourite when it comes to landing Mbappé's signature next year, and it is pretty clear that Los Blancos are the only team that the Frenchman has any desire to join once he leaves Paris; he even said as much.
There is no denying that his behaviour over the last few years has seriously annoyed the Real Madrid hierarchy, especially Florentino Perez, who did not hide how he felt following the player's decision to stay in Paris in summer 2022.
That said, football is a fickle business. Whatever Real officials and fans might say, they will still be working on a way to sign Mbappé next summer and with their need for a striker more acute now than it has been in years, we don't see a world in which the Frenchman isn't wearing the white of Real at some point in the next couple of years.
Chances: 8/10