Saudi soccer team Al Hilal offered a world-record package for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé on Monday. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was one of the many to take notice, and it seems like he would love his own massive offer from a Saudi sports team.
Al-Hilal’s offer consisted of a $776 million yearly salary for Mbappé, and a $332M transfer fee to PSG.
This makes it an over $1.1 billion offer for Mbappé to join the team, truly an unprecedented offer for any player in any sport.
Saudi club Al-Hilal has offered a world-record package for Kylian Mbappé:
1 year, $1.1 billion.
• $332M transfer fee to PSG
• $776M salary for 1 seasonThe deal would allow him to depart for free next summer to Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/BAFahLNuSh
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 24, 2023
It’s clearly a complicated offer considering some of the controversies around Saudi Arabia as a country and exactly where that money is coming from. Just about any athlete would at least consider an offer of this size, but Mbappé is reportedly an exception. According to ESPN, Mbappé is reportedly not interested in the offer.
It seems like LeBron James would have no issues taking this kind of offer if it were presented to him from a Saudi basketball league. He took to social media to react to Mbappe’s offer, posting a meme indicating that he would absolutely jump at that kind of money.
“Me headed to Saudi when they call Rich Paul & Maverick Carter for that 1 year deal!”
Me headed to Saudi when they call @RichPaul4 & @mavcarter for that 1 year deal!
pic.twitter.com/IX0VSMZYNb — LeBron James (@KingJames) July 25, 2023
LeBron is obviously one of the biggest faces in sports, and this is certainly a statement that many around the sports world took notice of and offered their opinion on.
Soooo…. Is it ok if Lebron does it but not ok if pro golfers do it? Asking for a friend lol
(this is a joke. Does not mean I’m going to LIV to be clear) https://t.co/YYBinIE7Gv
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) July 25, 2023
This isn’t great https://t.co/ambo9Z3ogt
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 25, 2023
You know the money Saudi is throwing around is STOOPID when NBA players are shocked by the numbers, these guys sign 500-600m contracts https://t.co/zeoduSbj7w
— Abdul (@abdule_10) July 25, 2023
https://t.co/uAYMMtysfK pic.twitter.com/vTu3WZOzRx
— Talor Gooch (@TalorGooch) July 25, 2023
Pour one out for all the max NBA players who are unable to make Saudi Arabia sports league money https://t.co/tgy1aay3AW
— John Rich (@JohnRichTV) July 25, 2023
It certainly says a lot about the current landscape of worldwide sports if an athlete the caliber of LeBron James is willing to accept money from a Saudi-based league.