Intentionally or not, Kylian Mbappe is on the headlines of all major sports pages in France. His ongoing battle with PSG grabbed most of the attention and with a reason. But Saudi Arabia’s ‘blitzkrieg’ on European football and its players is also something which cannot be underestimated. Saudis PIF fund got hold of the biggest clubs in the country: Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli and started to load them with European players from Top 5 leagues. Obviously, the key target are Premier League players, old and new, but that doesn’t mean they are avoiding other countries.📊🇫🇷 Lyon’s owner John Textor needs to raise €60m in 12 days, otherwise face sanctions from Ligue 1’s financial body. 3 options: sell the women team, sell OL Reign (other women’s team he owns), or just sell players, reports @lequipe. pic.twitter.com/wsHBgo7oeF— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) June 18, 2023 In France, it would be normal to target Kylian Mbappe, as he is the face of French football right now. Karim Benzema has a similar status, but he moved to Saudi Arabia from Real Madrid and he has been gone from French football for over a decade. But, whoever follows Ligue 1 or PSG knows very well that there is only one club in the world to which Mbappe wants to go, so the Saudis are not touching Kylian, they are going for the second best striker instead. With 29 goals, Mbappe is again the best striker in France, but at number 2, with just two goals less is former Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette, who came back to Lyon in 2022, after a spell at the Emirates. And he is PIF’s next target.🚨 Saudi Arabia are now interested in Alexandre Lacazette. 🇸🇦🇫🇷The Lyon striker has not considered the move, at least not yet. He’s happy in France. (Source: @FabriceHawkins ) pic.twitter.com/nEyiACtPwB— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) June 26, 2023 The French media took the hint from John Textor’s rant against Saudi Arabia and PIF. The American businessman owns Lyon, Crystal Palace in England and Botafogo in Brazil.“The Saudis want everything. They want my best player in Lyon, my best player in Crystal Palace, the best players and my coach in Botafogo. They have a buy-it-all strategy. Let’s see what will happen not only with Botafogo, but also with the world of football. It’s a very peculiar moment. ” he told to Canal Do TF, a Brazilian media. His best player in Lyon is Lacca, in Crystal Palace is Wilfred Zaha and Botafogo coach is Luis Castro. According to the French media, Alexandre Lacazette is currently on vacation and the Saudis did not have the opportunity to make him a quantified proposal so far. He not keen to leave Lyon and is currently happy in the club, but he hasn’t seen the offer yet….##NAJAVA_MECA_7340259##
