Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal has been given the green light to enter negotiations with Kylian Mbappe, the Paris St-Germain forward, following their astonishing world record bid of £259m.

The 24-year-old French captain, with only a year remaining on his contract, has declined to sign an extension with the French champions and was not included in their pre-season tour to Japan.

In a bid to avoid losing Mbappe on a free transfer next summer, PSG is eager to sell him now. The current record for the most expensive player in the world is Neymar's £200m move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017.

Mbappe, if the transfer goes through, will have commanded two out of the three highest transfer fees ever paid for a player. In 2017, PSG acquired him from Monaco for £166m. Several top clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan, and Barcelona, have expressed interest in signing the talented forward.

Mbappe has previously stated his intention to leave PSG for free at the end of the upcoming season, with Real Madrid believed to be his preferred destination.

PSG is open to the idea of allowing Mbappe to leave on loan this summer, enabling him to play out the final year of his contract elsewhere. This move would give him the opportunity to join Real Madrid at no cost in the following year while generating a loan fee for PSG.

The club's chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has emphasized his determination to adopt a tough stance in negotiations, with suggestions that Mbappe could face exclusion from the team for a whole year if the current deadlock persists. Such an outcome would undoubtedly impact his chances of representing France at Euro 2024.

Owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Al-Hilal has been making significant moves in the transfer market this summer, having already secured the signings of Ruben Neves from Wolves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea.