The Ibrahim Mbaye transfer story was, for most of this summer, a Liverpool story. It is not any more. Read Man Utd reported on Monday that a decision taken at Paris Saint-Germain has handed Manchester United a €50m opening for the PSG forward — and it lands less than 24 hours after Mbaye was left out of the squad for the Trophée des Champions.
For Les Parisiens, this is the awkward arithmetic of a brilliant summer. Paris have spent heavily on attackers. Two of the attackers already at the club are now being openly courted by Premier League sides. No fee has been agreed with anyone, and no approach from Old Trafford has appeared in the reporting. But the queue outside the door is getting longer
Background: a summer of arrivals in the same part of the pitch
PSG did not need to strengthen in attack. They did it anyway. Maghnes Akliouche arrived from AS Monaco earlier this month for a reported €50m on a deal to 2031. Ferran Torres was announced on 15 August, with both psg.fr and fcbarcelona.com confirming the move and a reported €50m fee. Mika Godts followed from Ajax on 16 August for a fee reported at up to €55m. Lucas Digne came in at left-back and Alessandro Longoni joined the goalkeeping group.
Stack those three attacking arrivals on top of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola and Quentin Ndjantou, and the shape of the problem is obvious. Paris have added three attackers inside a fortnight, at the exact moment the club’s own squad list is labelled temporary and the window is still open. Something has to give, and ReadPSG’s running guide to PSG’s 2026 window has been tracking the squeeze for weeks.
It is worth remembering Paris have already lost attacking bodies this summer. Gonçalo Ramos left for AC Milan and Lee Kang-in joined Atlético Madrid. The club has spent heavily to replace them. What it has not done is create room for everyone.
The Ibrahim Mbaye transfer market widens
Manchester United’s reported €50m opening
The new development is United’s. Read Man Utd framed it as a €50m opening created by a PSG decision, which is a careful way of saying the door is ajar rather than open. No bid from Old Trafford appears anywhere in Monday’s coverage, and neither club has confirmed an approach. Read this as United being told the price of admission, not as United walking in.
That distinction matters, because the €50m figure is the outlet’s framing, not a number Paris have publicly attached to Mbaye. ReadPSG reported on 14 August that PSG had put a €200m valuation on Barcola and Mbaye as a pair, a stance that suggests the club’s asking price for Mbaye alone is a negotiation rather than a fixed sum.
Liverpool were there first, and have not gone away
Africa Top Sports reported on Monday that Liverpool have stepped up their interest in Mbaye, and Anfield’s pursuit is the older thread here: ReadPSG reported Liverpool leading the race and their plan for a double swoop before United were mentioned at all.
The Barcola end of that double deal has moved fastest. Three separate figures are now in circulation, and it is worth keeping them apart:
- €135m — Goal reported on Monday that Liverpool have submitted an improved bid at this level for Barcola following the Trophée des Champions omission.
- £145m — the price Goal had previously framed for the forward. Note the currencies differ, so the two numbers are not directly comparable.
- £172m — Football365, describing Liverpool as confident and reporting fresh bids for what it called a £172m duo.
Nor is Anfield the only English destination being talked about. Goal reported the former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann giving Arsenal an edge in the race for Barcola, under the line “It’s a question only he can answer” — a reminder that the player’s own preference has not been settled in public either.
Every one of those figures belongs to the outlet that published it. Liverpool may also be about to free up room of their own: ESPN reported Gakpo is “one step away” from a Spurs switch. Sales fund purchases, and forwards tend to be replaced by forwards.
The omission that set the week alight
None of this would be running this hot without Sunday night. Barcola and Mbaye were both absent from the PSG squad that lost the Trophée des Champions 1-0 to Lens, a decision reported by This Is Anfield and also carried by Yahoo Sports, which tied both absences directly to Liverpool’s interest.
Luis Enrique has been terse about the pair on two separate occasions. After the final, the Mirror described the PSG manager giving a frosty three-word reply when asked about the two players left out. On Monday morning, the Liverpool Echo led on a single word — “Goodbye” — as the coach drawing a line under the subject. Neither remark is available in full, and a curt answer is not a confirmation of anything.
The case for Paris holding firm
There is a straightforward reading in which nobody leaves. Mbaye is named in PSG’s official 2026–27 first-team squad, the club has labelled that list temporary while the window is open, and no fee for him has been reported by anyone. A player being rested, rotated or protected from a domestic curtain-raiser is not a player being sold.
There is also the football argument. Paris are the reigning Ligue 1 champions and back-to-back European champions, having beaten Arsenal on penalties in the 2026 final. Squads that win two Champions Leagues in a row are not usually improved by thinning out the most flexible parts of the attack, and Luis Enrique’s rotation across a long season requires bodies. Selling both Barcola and Mbaye in the same fortnight would leave the forward line new rather than deep.
The counter-argument is money, and it is not a weak one. If Liverpool’s reported valuations are anywhere near accurate, Paris could bank a sum that reshapes the balance sheet for two players who may start behind Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia and Doué. ReadPSG put that dilemma to readers directly in asking whether PSG should cash in on Barcola, and the same logic applies, in miniature, to Mbaye.
What to watch next
Three things will tell you where this is going before any announcement does. The first is selection: if Mbaye is back in the matchday squad for PSG’s next fixture, the omission was tactical and the story cools. If he is absent again, it was not.
The second is whether Manchester United convert reported interest into a reported bid. Right now United have a price mentioned in a headline and nothing more, while Liverpool have submitted numbers. Interest that never becomes an offer is the most common transfer story of all.
The third is the order of events. Barcola’s situation is further advanced, and it is likely to resolve first. Should Paris accept a nine-figure sum for Barcola, the case for also letting Mbaye go weakens considerably — one sale creates the minutes that make the other unnecessary. If Barcola stays, the logjam stays with him, and Mbaye becomes the easier answer.
The bottom line
The Ibrahim Mbaye transfer picture has widened from one suitor to two Premier League clubs named in this week’s reporting, and PSG did as much to cause that as anyone else. Paris signed three attackers in a fortnight and then left two of their existing ones out of a final. No fee is agreed, nothing is confirmed, and every figure in circulation belongs to a newspaper rather than a club. For the full picture of what Luis Enrique is working with, read ReadPSG’s 2026-27 PSG season preview — and keep an eye on the teamsheet.
