Final project

Juan Ignacio Vazquez Cerezo

Phase 1

Negotiation: Real Madrid - Kylian Mbappe saga since 2017

Context: There is a negotiation that has been going on since 2017 between the
football giant Real Madrid and one of today’s best football players Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid have been interested in signing Mbappe as their new star player since
he was playing for AS Monaco back in 2017. In that same year the player decided to
sign a contract for a ridiculous amount of money for Paris Saint Germain instead, a
club which is owned and financed by the Petrol state Qatar. That did not stop the
negotiation, but made it even more intense. Every year since 2017 every transfer
window (January and summer) has been about speculating about one thing: Will
Mbappe finally sign for Real Madrid? According to papers, sport diaries, sport tv
channels, Twitter “insiders” and the most prestigious journalists around the world
Mbappe has been minutes away from signing a contract with Real Madrid but they
have been fooled again and again by this saga. It is a very complex negotiation
which involves many parties, and the best part is that it is still yet to be settled.

Parties involved: There are many parties involved in this negotiation, which makes
it very complex. The parties go from Kylian Mbappe himself, to the Emir of Qatar
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Direct
- Florentino Perez (Real Madrid’s President)
- Kylian Mbappe
- Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Paris Saint Germain’s president)

Indirect
- Fayza Lamari (Mbappe’s mother)
- Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Emir of Qatar)
- Real Madrid’s football squad (players and coach)
- Paris Saint Germain’s football squad (players and coach)
- Other bidders in the market (big European football clubs)

Variables
- Money: Everything indicates that Mbappe has always preferred signing big
money contracts for PSG than signing a lower paid contract for Real Madrid.
- Glory: Of course, money is not the only variable. Real Madrid is the most
competitive football club in history, they are the biggest winners in and always
 candidates for the biggest competitions. This is a very important variable
considering that PSG is a much smaller football club than Real Madrid.
- Other variables: I believe there are too many other variables in this
negotiation to mention all but some important ones are; results of both teams,
the player’s relationship with his current teammates and staff, other signings
in both clubs that could mean competition and the player’s family
environment.

Phase 2
The Kylian Mbappe case is a very complicated negotiation with so many parties
involved and even more factors that are key for the outcome of this saga. I believe
that there are many parties involved that have the power to turn this negotiation to
their side at any moment, but also, only one person has the ultimate power to end
the negotiation; Kylian Mbappe himself. It all falls to a decision.

Types of power involved

- Expert power: For me this is the most important type of power in this
negotiation. The expert power belongs to no less than Kylian Mbappe himself.
He possesses the most important information in the case, his decision. Even
though this is a very complicated negotiation, I believe that the most important
factor is Kylian’s decision.
- Reward power: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Emir of Qatar) & Nasser
Al-Khelaifi (Paris Saint Germain’s president), the owner of PSG and also the
Emir of Qatar has the financial power to reward Mbappe a very big sum of
money if he finally decides to renew his contract with PSG. We’ve already
seen this in a pair of occasions where Kylian was “very close” to joining Real
Madrid and at the last moment he decided to stay at PSG signing a new
multi-million euro contract.
- Coercive power: Florentino Perez (Real Madrid’s President), it is known that
Kylian Mbappe’s dream is to play for Real Madrid, he has said it himself on a
number of occasions. After being close to join Real Madrid on two occasions
and finally deciding to stay, people in Madrid are tired of him. It is clear that
the president of Real Madrid will not wait for Kylian Mbappe forever and if
Kylian keeps stalling, Florentino Perez is the man who has the power of
punishing him by impeding his dream from coming true.
- Legitimate power: Every party involved has a very important formal title but for
me Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the one that has the most power when it
comes to a formal title. Apart from being the owner of PSG, he is also the
leader of an entire country, Qatar. Qatar is a rich country based on oil, so Al
Thani is the leader of a rich country and also is the owner of the club of Kylian
Mbappe, when it comes to titles he is the most powerful.
- Referent power: Florentino Perez is the man that represents the most
respected football team in the world, Real Madrid. They are the most winning
 club when it comes to titles and also in financial terms. Real Madrid is an
institution that is recognized and admired throughout the world. The referent
power belongs to Florentino Perez because of the hierarchy of the institution
he leads. Also, Florentino Perez is easily the most famous and respected
president in the world of football, he has won 60 titles (extraordinary numbers)
between his 2 terms as Real Madrid president.

Phase 3

Parties
This negotiation is divided into several smaller negotiations that are going on right
now between the many parties involved. All these smaller negotiations have a lot of
context, which generates from the past, present and future of all these parties
involved. One may think that a negotiation for a football player only happens
between the player’s actual club and the club that is interested in the player. This is
wrong on so many levels. First, because the football market is open, and, asi I’ve
mentioned before, there are other clubs that may try to sign the player as well,
specially a top player like Kylian. Also, because the player can negotiate a contract
renewal and stay in his club, this is an option that excludes the “outsider” parties in
the negotiation. There are many other factors in a transfer negotiation that can affect
the whole operation apart from the 2 involved clubs.

Kylian Mbappe: Kylian’s context in this negotiation is special, and in my opinion, the
most important context of all the parties involved because of all possible outcomes
possible, Kylian has the power to decide what he wants. The whole negotiation rests
on Kylian’s decision. Now, that decision rests on a couple of very important factors;
Kylian’s salary and professional career.
Kylian renewed his contract with PSG in 2022 for a total of 3 years for a total value of
€216,000,000 (€72,000,000 a year). Even though figures in these type of contracts
and salary rankings between players may vary between sources, Kylian is one of the
three best paid players in the world. Renewing his contract with PSG would mean a
raise, and possibly a big raise considering that he is wanted by Real Madrid and
every other big european club. Now, his professional career is also a huge factor. In
France’s national squad, Kylian at the age of 25 has already been world cup finalist 2
times winning one of them at just 19 years old. But he is yet to win big trophies at
clubs level, he has never won the Champions League, Ballon D’Or, or any other big
international trophy that requires an elite performance at clubs level. Ruling out other
European clubs because PSG and Real Madrid seem to be the only two real options
in this operation, Kylian must decide if he wants to keep filling his wallet or start filling
his trophy cabinet. He has the potential to become a legend in the right club and little
is said that even though it is not known yet, Real Madrid’s financial offer will be very
good, just not as exaggerated as PSG’s
Before getting into the context of the next parties I would like to make it simpler. The
presidents of PSG and Real Madrid are the maximum representatives of their clubs,
so I will consider the two presidents as their whole institutions.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Paris Saint Germain): PSG is not a historic European club, Qatar
Sports Investments, QSI (owned by the Emir of Qatar) bought the club in 2011 and
since then, the oil-funded group has been investing a lot of money in the club. With
all this money, they bought a squad that can compete in the big European
competitions, including Kylian Mbappe, who arrived in 2011. Kylian has become
PSG’s icon because of his elite performances and also because he is french. Letting
go of your icon is not easy, especially if he is also France’s icon. Kylian signed for
PSG back in 2017, refusing Real Madrid’s offer, some say with the excuse that his
time in PSG would be a “transition” so that he would arrive later on being a much
better player. Since then, PSG and QSI have done everything to keep Kylian from
going to Madrid. Now, after being successful in keeping him for the third time
(summer 2017, summer 2022 and summer 2023), it seems that it's the definitive one.
Sources close to Real Madrid assure that if it's not in summer 2024 it is over for
Kylian. Nasser Al-Khelaifi must perform a miracle if Kylian is to stay at PSG this year.
Also, he has the option of, with Qatar’s influence, “making an offer he can’t refuse”.

Florentino Perez (Real Madrid): Real Madrid is the biggest club in history, from their
golden age in the 50’s (5 consecutive champions league wins) to their new golden
age right now (5 champions league wins in 8 years). This club is known for being
home to the very best players in the world, big names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane,
Di Stefano, Beckam, etc… Now, Kylian has said on multiple occasions that his
dream is to play for Real Madrid, he even declared himself a fan of Cristiano
Ronaldo (there are pictures of his room as a kid full of Real Madrid photos on the
wall). Also, Florentino Pérez is the most respected president in the football world, he
is known for making impossible deals over and over again (Figo, Beckham, Ronaldo,
etc…) and for building a famous Real Madrid squad featuring the best players in the
world in the 2000’s; “The Galacticos”. Now, he is building a “Galacticos 2” with all the
best players in the world right now. The missing piece for this team is an attacker
who also is a superstar. So all the pieces seem to fit perfectly, Real Madrid has the
money, the greatness and the squad for an elite superstar like Kylian Mbappe.

Barriers
With so many indirect parties involved, so many variables and so much complexity,
several barriers are to be expected in a negotiation like this. The most important
factor here is Kylian 's decision which is unknown and there are many barriers for
Kylian to accept Real Madrid’s offer. So far, Kylian has demonstrated his preference
for financially bigger contracts rather than a great team. Even though Real Madrid is
the club that generates the most earnings in the world, PSG is simply backed by
Qatar’s oil money. So in this football club vs whole country, it is easy then to
conclude that in case the money barrier is the most important to Kylian, he will stay
at PSG. Then, there's the country’s barrier. Kylian is french, lives in Paris, is PSG’s
referent, star and probably best player in history, and he also is France’s footballing
idol and probably one of the most respected figures in his whole country. Having
achieved this, why would he decide to go to Spain, to a team where he is not even
close to becoming the idol of, where there’s a language barrier although he speaks
perfect spanish and where if he fails to perform, will be treated just as indifferent as
every other player that has failed at Real Madrid. Now considering one of the
secondary parties involved, there is a political barrier as well. There’s a whole case
of corruption involving Qatar and France for casually opening full international
relations after France’s representative in FIFA, Michel Platini, gave the definitive vote
to Qatar as the 2022 world cup host. This happened the same year that Al Thani
(Emir of Qatar) bought PSG! Seeing how corruption is present in these two countries
and even more in football, political pressures are definitely a barrier in this
negotiation. I don’t think Qatar would like to see the star of their investment in France
go to Real Madrid, that amazingly enough is leading the project of a new European
top-club competition where state owned clubs such as PSG will be banned from
participating (The European Super League). These barriers include strategic
behavior, interpersonal and institutional aspects.

Interests
Beyond his past decisions, Kylian Mbappe’s priorities are unclear. He has
demonstrated to prefer money so far, but has also said that wants to become a
football legend. His fundamental needs will be satisfied with both offers because
both clubs generate millions of euros and compete in the top european leagues. His
entire context further increases the doubt of his priorities. There’s a dilemma
between what he has demonstrated accepting bigger and bigger contracts vs his
narrative of wanting to achieve his dreams. Recent sources indicate that he has
already told his teammates that he will leave PSG this summer and others assure
that he has already signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid. Actions speak louder
than words, perhaps this time Kylian will honour his words.

PSG’s interests are Qatar’s interests as long as they own the team. There is a big
question involving middle eastern countries and football. What do middle eastern
countries want to achieve by spending that much money on football? Well, the
answer is not that simple. On one side, they want to open their countries to the world
by promoting them. Sport is a great way to gather people from all over the world and
diversify your country. On the other side, there are huge economical profits in
football, as it stands now. FIFA and UEFA take a huge part of what clubs generate in
TV rights and countries like Qatar want a piece of that. These profits also mean
there’s a lot of corruption even to whole countries’ level (for example France and
Qatar). So regarding this negotiation, PSG’s interests are to become one of the big
european clubs by having the best players in order to win the best competitions and
in that way, being recognized all over the world. Gaining followers is very difficult
considering the other big and already settled European clubs. Having a player like
Kylian is key to achieve that

Real Madrid’s interests are the counterpart to PSG’s intention to take over the TV
rights along with institutions like FIFA and UEFA. Real Madrid has always aimed to
be the best club there is in every competition. It sounds very simple but actually
becoming the best in history is really something. Real Madrid internal priorities are to
have a winning team, the best stadium in the world and to be the biggest institution
in football. There are some external priorities that need to be fulfilled if you want to
complete your internal priorities. Real Madrid want to own their main product (TV
rights), and with the actual competitions it is impossible because a big part of those
rights belong to UEFA. So Florentino Perez has proposed a new competition where
all the best clubs in Europe are invited to participate every year (just as the
champions league) only that in this competition, the clubs will be the owners of the
100% of what they generate. The European Super League walks on its own now, but
it is Florentino’s effort to make it what it is now. So, in order to compete in this new
super league, Real Madrid will need the best team they can get. Having the best
team will make them compete at this high level, keeping their fanbase after
reinventing football as we know it. To achieve all this, you need the best of the best,
and that is Kylian Mbappe.

To say that all these interests are at stake specifically in this negotiation would be an
overstatement, but I believe that this negotiation is easily the most mediatic and
complex in football history. What this negotiation represents for Real Madrid and
PSG is beyond what we read in the news. It is the glory against the money, The
Super League against UEFA, the good against the bad. It is very complicated to
determine what's at stake here because there’s an open market and also there’s
other great players out there. Both clubs have the resources to get a replacement
depending on Kylian’s decision.

BATNA
The best alternative for Kylian Mbappe varies from PSG and Real Madrid’s best
alternative. In case Kylian stays in PSG, Kylian’s BATNA is still great, because he
would get a much bigger contract and also the possibility to compete at the highest
level, an alternative which can still fulfill his dream of becoming a legend, just not in
Real Madrid but in another club. There’s also another scenario where Kylian rejects
Real Madrid and PSG and decides to move to another big European club, in which
he can also get a big contract and also compete at the highest level. So, put simply,
the worst thing that would happen to Kylian is not fulfilling his dream of playing for
Real Madrid, having in my opinion, less possibilities to become a big legend. The
best alternative for Real Madrid if Kylian decides not to join them, is to sign another
elite attacker such as Erling Haaland or maybe another not yet known player,
because there are emergent stars every year. For me, Kylian is a perfect fit for Real
Madrid and he is the best fitting player in the market right now. So Real Madrid would
be losing their perfect investment-player. Also, it would mean that one of their rivals,
either PSG or other big club such as Manchester City would have Kylian Mbappe, so
they would have to compete against a stronger rival. PSG has a lot of money and a
decent team, so they would still be able to compete at the highest level and gain a lot
of followers by signing another superstar in case Kylian decides to leave the club.
The possibility of competing against a stronger rival is present for all clubs involved.
So, the BATNA for each party doesn’t seem to be that bad at all, because there is an
open market and a lot of alternatives. But I think the BATNA in this negotiation is a
big if. No one really knows how Kylian will perform in either of the clubs, if he will get
badly injured or if there will be a rising star younger and better than him. As of right
now, Kylian Mbappe is arguably the best player in the world, so the BATNA for PSG
and Real Madrid as of today, is missing out on the world’s best.

Hofstede Dimensions
Spain and France are both European neighbors and have a lot in common, their
culture is very similar and since the European Union exists, a new European culture
has developed, specially in the business and negotiation fields. Also, in this case,
there are specific protocols between the UEFA clubs, for example, every time that
two teams play, their presidents will be seated next to each other during the game, or
there will be official meetings during lunch or dinner between presidents and
executives. So the parties involved in this negotiation have a lot in common because
they all belong to the football world. For this Real Madrid-Paris Saint
Germain-Mbappe negotiation, I will compare Spanish and European culture in
general with Qatari culture. I believe this comparison to be more precise because
even though PSG is a french club, the parties involved (PSG’s president and Emir of
Qatar) are Qatari.

Power Distance: Qatar, represented by the Emir and PSG's president, may prefer
more hierarchical structures, impacting negotiations with Real Madrid and Mbappe,
who are accustomed to more egalitarian approaches from the Spanish and the
French.

Individualism vs. Collectivism: This negotiation is between the individualistic cultures

of Spain (Real Madrid) and France (Mbappe) and the collectivist approach of Qatar,
influencing how decisions are made and goals are prioritized.

Masculinity vs. Femininity: The competitive, achievement-focused cultures of Spain

and France might drive Real Madrid and Mbappe's negotiation tactics, contrasting
with a possibly more balanced approach by the Qatari parties.

Uncertainty Avoidance: France's high score might mirror Mbappe's need for security
in career decisions, differing from Qatar's flexibility in negotiations, possibly leading
to varied expectations and agreements.
Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation: Qatar's long-term planning could affect PSG's
strategic patience in keeping Mbappe, contrasting with Real Madrid's immediate
success and legacy building goals.

Indulgence vs. Restraint: Spain's indulgent nature might push Real Madrid towards
securing Mbappe for immediate success, while Qatar's restrained approach could
focus on long-term investments and Mbappe's career growth.

12 Negotiation Variables
Negotiation Concept: This involves understanding how cultural perspectives on
negotiation (Spanish, French, Qatari) might impact what each party values in the
negotiation - Real Madrid emphasizing footballing legacy and competitive success,
PSG focusing on building a global sports brand backed by Qatari investment.

Selector of Negotiation: The selection process for negotiators reflects both the
organizational hierarchy and the strategic importance of the negotiation, with Real
Madrid's president and PSG's Qatari-backed leadership representing differing
approaches to negotiation authority and representation.

Role of Individual Aspirations: Mbappe's personal career goals and aspirations play
a critical role, with Real Madrid offering a platform for sporting legacy and PSG
offering financial incentives and a key role in a project with significant Qatari backing.

Concern with Protocol: Cultural differences might influence the level of formality and
adherence to protocol in negotiations, with PSG potentially leaning towards more
formal negotiation settings reflective of Qatari business culture, contrasted with Real
Madrid's approach influenced by Spanish business etiquette.

Importance of Type of Issue: The negotiation's focus - financial terms, career

opportunities, or team competitiveness, varies in importance between the parties,
impacting the negotiation's direction and outcomes.

Complexity of Language: Communication style, whether direct or indirect, and the

use of language, both verbally and non-verbally, can significantly affect negotiation
dynamics, potentially leading to misunderstandings if not carefully managed.

Nature of an Argument: The persuasive strategies employed, whether appealing to

logic, emotion, or a combination of both, vary by party, influenced by cultural norms
and the specific aims of each party within the negotiation.

Value of Time: Both Real Madrid and PSG have the same perception of time, they
both want to close a deal with Mbappe as soon as possible, of course Kylian and the
presidents have said several times that no announcement will be made while both
teams are still competing in this year’s Champions League (ends on May 25th or if
both teams are eliminated before that date). On the other hand, Kylian seems to
want to extend the time for him to make the right decision.

Bases of Trust: Trust is a complicated issue in this negotiation, since this saga
started, the rivalry between the clubs has increased, Kylian has rejected Real Madrid
more than once, PSG representatives have made controversial declarations about
Real Madrid and there is a lot of tension in general.

Risk-Taking Propensity: Each party's willingness to take risks, whether financial,

reputational, or strategic, informs their negotiation stance, with Real Madrid perhaps
more inclined to gamble on securing a top talent at significant cost.

Decision-Making System: The internal decision-making processes, whether

centralized around a key figure like Florentino Perez for Real Madrid or involving a
broader array of stakeholders for PSG, impact negotiation strategies and outcomes.

Form of Satisfactory Agreement: Preferences for the specificity and flexibility of the
agreement, reflecting differing legal and cultural expectations around contract
negotiations, will influence the final form any agreement takes.

These dimensions and barriers represent opportunities and barriers within the
negotiation. Still, I believe that Florentino Perez is one of the most capable
negotiators in the world, he has done impossible deals several times and has also
dealt with people from all over the world with different cultures. Also, while Qatar’s
culture is very different from European culture, the middle eastern countries have
been involved in the football world for many years now, so these people are no
strangers for someone like Florentino. One of the main partners and sponsors of
Real Madrid is Fly Emirates, a middle eastern company. This negotiation is clearly
the most complex one in the history of the sport, and I believe that the negotiation
variables will have more influence in the negotiation than the differences in culture.
Variables like time, trust and the role of individual aspirations will play a key role in
the final outcome of this negotiation.

Sources

- RealSeasonNT (@realseasonnt1) · x. (n.d.-c).

https://twitter.com/RealSeasonNT1
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psg-informes-trax/
- José Félix Díaz (@jfelixdiaz) · x. (n.d.-a). https://twitter.com/jfelixdiaz
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- Market Realist. (n.d.). Who owns Paris Saint-Germain?
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agreed to a 'historic' contract extension with the club, keeping him at the club
until June.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68346321#:~:text=Paris%20St-Germain%
20striker%20Kylian%20Mbappe%20has%20agreed%20to,the%20club%20wit
h%20his%20contract%20expiring%20in%20June.

note: The Twitter accounts belong to either very prestigious and respected journalists
in the football world or to very reliable insiders that give exclusive and correct
information.