MANCHESTER: Manchester City can overtake Real Madrid in a battle for Kylian Mbappe before the French star’s contract at Paris Saint-Germain ends this season.

The owner of the English Premier League champions, Sheikh Mansour, issued a statement that Mbappe should be signed despite having to incur huge expenses.

Mansour ordered the effort to get the prolific PSG scorer to be completed as early as the January transfer window.

Real Madrid are desperate to win the World Cup, but two offers were made in the summer transfer window and found a dead end.

City were linked with Tottenham striker Harry Kane over the summer but refused to meet the £ 150million demand placed on the England captain.

City manager Pep Guardiola has a chance to get Mbappe at a lower price ahead of the next transfer window which starts in January next year.

Guardiola insists he is happy with his current squad after failing to get Kane, although City are now without a genuine striker following the transfer of club top scorer Sergio Aguero.

Despite scoring six goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, City have scored more than one goal in just two Premier League games this season.

Mbappe is said to be more likely to join Madrid, but City are among the few clubs that can provide him with a lucrative offer compared to the 13 -time European champions.