Real Madrid deny Mbappe interest

Madrid, March 26 (Xinhua) -- real Madrid have rejected rumors that they are willing to offer a world record transfer fee of 280 million euros to sign Paris Saint-Germain's French international forward Kylian Mbappe.

France Football on Monday published that the Spanish club was preparing to offer that fee for Mbappe as part of their plans to rebuild the squad this summer.

Mbappe has been linked several times with real Madrid and could possibly be persuaded to leave PSG in the wake of their shock Champions League defeat at home to Manchester United. However, real Madrid have poured cold water on the deal, saying the story published on Monday is "absolutely false".

The denial of Madrid doesn't mean the club has forgotten about Mbappe and it is generally expected that the club will spend a huge amount of money over the summer to give the returning Zinedine Zidane a squad able to compete with FC Barcelona.

Mbappe is only one of a list of players, together with fellow countrymen Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, who real Madrid are thought to be interested in. Besides, Zidane also reportedly hoped to sign Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Chelsea's Belgian international winger Eden Hazard.