After accepting what appears to be a world record-breaking £259 million proposal, Paris Saint-Germain this morning gave Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal permission to talk with Kylian Mbappé.

The Frenchman is reportedly being offered €700 million by Al-Hilal on a one-year contract, which would free him up to sign with Real Madrid at this time the following year.

Barcelona, despite not currently possessing anywhere near the financial clout of the nouveau-rich Saudis, appears determined to hijacƙ the transaction. According to Mundo Deportivo and L’Equipe, Barça has agreed to meet with the Parisians with the goal of putting their own contract on the table.

Barcelona is prepared to throw in a number of players to make up for their lack of spending capacity in order to lure PSG away from the Al-Hilal agreement and defeat competition from the top Premier League clubs.

In this game of transfer chess, Frenchmen Ousmane Dembélé and Jules Koundé are anticipated to be the pawns, although the same news outlets have identified Eric Garcia, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, and Franck Kessié as players who might be included in the deal.

Barcelona will be helped by the strong bonds many of these players have with the new head coach Luis Enrique, PSG, or French football in general, as well as PSG’s persistent displeasure with the way Real Madrid has handled the situation.

If Barcelona were to sign Mbappé before their rivals, it would be perhaps the greatest transfer coup in history. However, even if PSG agreed to a deal, it is unclear what kind of contract and compensation the 24-year-old would receive from the Catalan giants.