"Don't have the money" - Blow for Liverpool as they are told they can't sign phenomenal £650,000-a-week star

Liverpool appear to have been dealt a fresh blow in any pursuit of PSG star Kylian Mbappe - despite the Frenchman's reported desire to leave Parc des Princes.

Spanish outlet Marca reported last week that the 23-year-old had asked to leave the club back in July. It is claimed that PSG agreed to negotiate his exit - as long as talks did not involve a move to Real Madrid.

Since then, prominent French journalist Romain Molina reported that Mbappe had been promised that PSG would sign Milan Skriniar, Robert Lewandowski and Bernardo Silva during his contract negotiations earlier this year.

Skriniar and Silva remained at their clubs, with Lewandowski joining Barcelona.

Mbappe has been hotly linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Chelsea. But the Reds appear to have been dealt a blow in their chances of signing the French star, with his huge wage amongst the factors that are potentially sticking points.

Can Liverpool afford to sign Kylian Mbappe?

According to high-profile Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, the answer to that question is no.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Balague explained: "Liverpool don't have the kind of money that's required [to sign Mbappe].

"Remember, he got 150 million himself. He won't get all of that if he leaves, but that's just for himself, a signing-on fee.

"Plus the wages. Plus the transfer fee. It's a bit too much for Liverpool."

Foot Mercato's Santi Aouna claimed that PSG have placed a €400 million price tag on Mbappe for January. That figure would smash the existing transfer record, held by PSG team-mate Neymar (€222m).

It is also reported that Mbappe's new deal with his current club is worth an incredible £650,000 a week - well out of the reach of the vast majority of clubs in world football.

If the Reds do want to sign the Frenchman, they will have to fork out unimaginable sums - or turn their attentions elsewhere.

But there will undoubtedly be clubs circulating around Mbappe, with the 23-year-old one of the truly elite players in global football.