Paris: Former Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro believes Spanish giants Real Madrid are always on the lookout for world superstars like Kylian Mbappe but stated it will be difficult to prize him away from a club like Paris St. Germain.
Mbappe has been linked with a move away from PSG in recent times with Santiago Bernabeu being a possible destination considering his high market value.
Real Madrid are known to break their bank for top players time and time again but Cannavaro believes the young Frenchman might just be out of their reach.
“Madrid need players like Mbappe, a young star who could follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo,” Cannavaro was quoted as saying by en.as.com.
“It’s normal that Madrid want to sign him but it also has to be taken into account that PSG’s owners don’t need the money. They are ambitious and they want to win the Champions League.
“I think it will be difficult for Madrid to get him. The president of PSG is a person who wants to win, I know them well and they will fight tooth and nail to keep Mbappe,” he added.
Cannavaro, who was the last defender to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or, also lauded former Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta, who recently turned 36.
Iniesta was part of the Barcelona dream team that won numerous domestic and European titles while he also helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010, sandwiched between two Euro crowns.
“He played with such style, you couldn’t help but love him when you saw him play,” Cannavaro said.
“He was a perfect professional, very humble…I loved him. Everybody might have been watching Messi but I was watching Iniesta.”
IANS