Wenger wanted Lemar and the ‘next Pele’
ARSENE WENGER has confirmed Arsenal launched a Premier League record €100million (£92m) bid to sign Thomas Lemar from Monaco on the final day of the transfer window — and said another of his targets, Kylian Mbappe, could be the ‘next Pele’.
The Gunners boss, who also described the 21-year-old Lemar as a ‘complete’ player, revealed the club plan to renew their interest in him next year.
‘He decided to stay at Monaco,’ Wenger told French football programme ‘Did we make a €100m offer? Yes. Are we going to make another offer? Yes. He is always ready to receive the ball, he is quite complete in both defence and attack.’
The 67-year- old also called on UEFA to scrap Financial Fair Play regulations, claiming there is little point setting rules they cannot enforce. Wenger said: ‘I wanted FFP initially, but now I think it should be scrapped. You shouldn’t have a rule that cannot be imposed.’ FFP is in the spotlight due to the incredible spending of Paris Saint- Germain, who are the subject of a UEFA investigation after signing Neymar and Mbappe.
Neymar cost a world-record £198m from Barcelona and Mbappe joined on an initial season-long loan, with PSG agreeing to pay £166m next summer, effectively taking their summer outlay above £350m.
Wenger insists the former Monaco starlet could end up being well worth the astronomical sum.
He said: ‘Mbappe could be the next Pele. There are no limits to how far he can go. We can already see the difference in the calls he makes (to receive the ball). He scores but he also creates — only the very best players can do this.’
The Gunners were linked with Mbappe before turning to Lemar. They halted their pursuit of Lemar in July after seeing a bid worth £50m knocked back, with Wenger later claiming their interest was ‘dead’.
It was only in the final hours of the window that they rekindled their interest and finally agreed a deal with Monaco, only for the player to say he did not want to join Arsenal.