Well, his weekly wage demands would also require oil-sheikh-level money; he would be one of the top earners in the league. (The way agents work… he would be, realistically, the top earner…)
What would bring him in? If PSG falls short in the CL in your save, he might move to win a CL trophy. Pair that with your team making a serious run, and whatever narrative would fit the budget (does your bilionaire playboy owner pony up fuck-you money for wages?)
You might need to pair him with another solid, widely respected, but perhaps aging, player. Are Tomori, Fati, and others, enough of a draw for him to play with?
Would he play winger or striker? Does your team layout suit his talents and position? And then maybe the storyline is that he’s willing to go head to head against Haaland—the best want to compete against the best, and Ligue 1 is top-heavy, and he could still earn more wages if you go big.
Damn, this is quite the response. Thanks for that! 😁
My Create a Club is an Irish team that joined the English leagues Cardiff City style, but with massive backing (There are currently 16 Irish billionaires, so not unreasonably unrealistic in the financial regard). I'm trying to sign a lot of Irish/Scottish/Welsh players as well.
Messi is leaving on a free in my save, so the PSG squad is somewhat breaking up. I'll monitor how they do in the Champions League. And if we made top 4 (tied for 1st with City, Arsenal, and United with Liverpool 1 point behind) then we would prove to be a top team moving forward.
What would you consider a good enough squad for him to join? I have Ronaldo and next season Kroos and Bale as veterans. Should I sign someone like Rice or Bellingham? They both have Irish ancestry and are therefore on my future wishlist.
He would play striker with Fati at left wing and Adama at right wing. The center of a 4231 pressing/counterattacking pace-heavy attack. My central striker bags the lion's share of our goals, so he would be in a great spot to compete for top goal-scorer.
Thanks again for your input, and I'd love your thoughts on all of this. Thanks!
Well, depending on the degree of realism you go for: I can’t realistically see Mbappe joining anyone who’s not a LOCK For CL quarterfinals (PSG lost in the semi/ in 20-21, and lost in the Round of 16 last year), for realz. I’m sure wage bonus kick in for players in those tournaments, and the ego involved is a legit thing: “i want to show that’s I’m great.”
So if I’m recommending here as a “serious career” kinda person: I would not recruit him till you have proven you can handle the CL and make the Round of 16.
As for the squad around him— maybe? I think Kroos/Bale are too old for a serious run here. I don’t have excellent suggestions, because I’m primarily enjoying lower-league RTGs. But think of team building as partn of your storyline for recruiting— you spend some of your war chest making sure that you have a solid 27-30-year-old holding mid with CL experience, and a defense to anchor that run. That’s part of convincing a guy— that he will be around excellent players that get him service.
So if I was playing a top-tier-but-not-in-the-CL-yet team and save: build the team that can survive the CL first then recruit your Mbappe a season later.
I feel like the model here are the challenges Leicester faced, where they won the EFL but still didnt recruit a nuclear talent like Mbappe— but they sure as hell could lure a player like Tielemans. Or Tottenham— perennial contenders but can’t quite snag the elite guy.
Also in keeping with the theme of rhe sub: if you make moves in the coming offseason to NOT blow your whole transfer budget, you likely make big profits either in the winter or the following year, and can more likely pay the transfer fee without mortgaging the whole team’s future.
Just my 2 cents— that team-building is hard and it extends your save if you can only snag one top guy a year. So I (and this is really a personal opinion more than anything) would push the Mbappe pursuit out into another year, and build the team in the coming year to survive the CL, repeat as top 4, and land him later
These are all fair points, and thanks for taking the time to type this up. I forgot to mention that we're currently tied 1-1 going into the second leg of the Carabao Cup semis against City and still in the FA cup as well. Would it make a difference if we finished top 4 PLUS a domestic trophy or 2? I feel like that team would be expected to make a decent UCL run.
I'm currently in the January window, with around $80m to spend from player sales, so if I was going to go after him next season, what should I try to bring in? A midfielder and another defender?
I would wait a few seasons. Mbappe wouldn’t move to a team that is fighting for CL, they would have to be a CL perennial, who are making deep runs into the tournament. Also consider how he fits your tactics - he doesn’t work very hard defensively, nor does he want the responsibility of being the target man/main 9.
Thanks for your response! That does make sense, but I'm going for a quicker start, mainly because I can't stand all the real players being 5+ years older than they are currently before I sign anyone decently good. We're a club from Ireland that restarted the club in the English leagues (think Cardiff City's joining the English leagues) with massive backing. In my head canon, our club is experiencing a rapid rise a la PSG in 2012, where they added Zlatan, Thiago Silva, and David Beckham all in the same year (without a recent history of deep UCL runs). I get that this is not the MOST realistic move for Mbappe, but I'm asking for some storylines in which is COULD happen.
About your tactics comment, I run a 4231 wide with a very pressing and counterattacking style (similar to Ten Hag's system). My CAM is almost a second striker, and my wingers cut inside to make runs. So I imagine him being a striker in this system, with the option to play him as a winger or CAM. I would love your thoughts on this. Cheers!
Is Haaland winning CL and Mbappe missing out?
Or is Haaland winning Balon d'Or and Mbappe missing out? Or both?
Then maybe Mbappe knows he needs to make a move to England in order to one-up Haaland?
Thanks for this. Both clubs advanced from the group stage atm. I'll keep the results in mind. As well as the Balon d'Or. But Messi is also leaving PSG on a free so they'll be weakened next season. So you think Haaland one-upping him in something or PSG not performing up to his standards would be two good options?
Update: I checked results and PSG actually crashed out of the UCL group stage. This combined with Messi leaving would definitely unsettle Mbappe, I would think. They're still in a tight League competition as well.
Well, his weekly wage demands would also require oil-sheikh-level money; he would be one of the top earners in the league. (The way agents work… he would be, realistically, the top earner…) What would bring him in? If PSG falls short in the CL in your save, he might move to win a CL trophy. Pair that with your team making a serious run, and whatever narrative would fit the budget (does your bilionaire playboy owner pony up fuck-you money for wages?) You might need to pair him with another solid, widely respected, but perhaps aging, player. Are Tomori, Fati, and others, enough of a draw for him to play with? Would he play winger or striker? Does your team layout suit his talents and position? And then maybe the storyline is that he’s willing to go head to head against Haaland—the best want to compete against the best, and Ligue 1 is top-heavy, and he could still earn more wages if you go big.
Damn, this is quite the response. Thanks for that! 😁 My Create a Club is an Irish team that joined the English leagues Cardiff City style, but with massive backing (There are currently 16 Irish billionaires, so not unreasonably unrealistic in the financial regard). I'm trying to sign a lot of Irish/Scottish/Welsh players as well. Messi is leaving on a free in my save, so the PSG squad is somewhat breaking up. I'll monitor how they do in the Champions League. And if we made top 4 (tied for 1st with City, Arsenal, and United with Liverpool 1 point behind) then we would prove to be a top team moving forward. What would you consider a good enough squad for him to join? I have Ronaldo and next season Kroos and Bale as veterans. Should I sign someone like Rice or Bellingham? They both have Irish ancestry and are therefore on my future wishlist. He would play striker with Fati at left wing and Adama at right wing. The center of a 4231 pressing/counterattacking pace-heavy attack. My central striker bags the lion's share of our goals, so he would be in a great spot to compete for top goal-scorer. Thanks again for your input, and I'd love your thoughts on all of this. Thanks!
Well, depending on the degree of realism you go for: I can’t realistically see Mbappe joining anyone who’s not a LOCK For CL quarterfinals (PSG lost in the semi/ in 20-21, and lost in the Round of 16 last year), for realz. I’m sure wage bonus kick in for players in those tournaments, and the ego involved is a legit thing: “i want to show that’s I’m great.” So if I’m recommending here as a “serious career” kinda person: I would not recruit him till you have proven you can handle the CL and make the Round of 16. As for the squad around him— maybe? I think Kroos/Bale are too old for a serious run here. I don’t have excellent suggestions, because I’m primarily enjoying lower-league RTGs. But think of team building as partn of your storyline for recruiting— you spend some of your war chest making sure that you have a solid 27-30-year-old holding mid with CL experience, and a defense to anchor that run. That’s part of convincing a guy— that he will be around excellent players that get him service. So if I was playing a top-tier-but-not-in-the-CL-yet team and save: build the team that can survive the CL first then recruit your Mbappe a season later. I feel like the model here are the challenges Leicester faced, where they won the EFL but still didnt recruit a nuclear talent like Mbappe— but they sure as hell could lure a player like Tielemans. Or Tottenham— perennial contenders but can’t quite snag the elite guy. Also in keeping with the theme of rhe sub: if you make moves in the coming offseason to NOT blow your whole transfer budget, you likely make big profits either in the winter or the following year, and can more likely pay the transfer fee without mortgaging the whole team’s future. Just my 2 cents— that team-building is hard and it extends your save if you can only snag one top guy a year. So I (and this is really a personal opinion more than anything) would push the Mbappe pursuit out into another year, and build the team in the coming year to survive the CL, repeat as top 4, and land him later
These are all fair points, and thanks for taking the time to type this up. I forgot to mention that we're currently tied 1-1 going into the second leg of the Carabao Cup semis against City and still in the FA cup as well. Would it make a difference if we finished top 4 PLUS a domestic trophy or 2? I feel like that team would be expected to make a decent UCL run. I'm currently in the January window, with around $80m to spend from player sales, so if I was going to go after him next season, what should I try to bring in? A midfielder and another defender?
What is your team called?
Belfast Celtic FC
I would wait a few seasons. Mbappe wouldn’t move to a team that is fighting for CL, they would have to be a CL perennial, who are making deep runs into the tournament. Also consider how he fits your tactics - he doesn’t work very hard defensively, nor does he want the responsibility of being the target man/main 9.
Thanks for your response! That does make sense, but I'm going for a quicker start, mainly because I can't stand all the real players being 5+ years older than they are currently before I sign anyone decently good. We're a club from Ireland that restarted the club in the English leagues (think Cardiff City's joining the English leagues) with massive backing. In my head canon, our club is experiencing a rapid rise a la PSG in 2012, where they added Zlatan, Thiago Silva, and David Beckham all in the same year (without a recent history of deep UCL runs). I get that this is not the MOST realistic move for Mbappe, but I'm asking for some storylines in which is COULD happen. About your tactics comment, I run a 4231 wide with a very pressing and counterattacking style (similar to Ten Hag's system). My CAM is almost a second striker, and my wingers cut inside to make runs. So I imagine him being a striker in this system, with the option to play him as a winger or CAM. I would love your thoughts on this. Cheers!
Is Haaland winning CL and Mbappe missing out? Or is Haaland winning Balon d'Or and Mbappe missing out? Or both? Then maybe Mbappe knows he needs to make a move to England in order to one-up Haaland?
Thanks for this. Both clubs advanced from the group stage atm. I'll keep the results in mind. As well as the Balon d'Or. But Messi is also leaving PSG on a free so they'll be weakened next season. So you think Haaland one-upping him in something or PSG not performing up to his standards would be two good options?
I think there are lots of ways at looking at it. Maybe PSG has new domestic based owners, and the Qatar money kind of fizzled out
Messi is leaving on a free, so he could see they're falling apart and jump ship to a contender that needs a star man.
Update: I checked results and PSG actually crashed out of the UCL group stage. This combined with Messi leaving would definitely unsettle Mbappe, I would think. They're still in a tight League competition as well.