Mbappe already has financial go-ahead to buy Caen

The French media reported on Wednesday that the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de la Gestion (DNCG) gave its implicit authorisation for Kylian Mbappe to buy Ligue 2 side Caen. It did so by refraining from intervening following the change of ownership, which saw 80 per cent of the shares pass from US fund Oaktree Capital to Coalition Capital.

The transaction had been announced at the end of July by the club itself, which did not give details of the price paid at the time. According to press reports, the investment by Mbappe's fund is in the region of 20 million euros.

The current Real Madrid star, 25, has thus become one of the few active footballers to own a club, as is his compatriot N'Golo Kante of Royal Excelsior Virton.

The forward has a long-standing relationship with Caen, for whom he came close to signing in 2012 when he was just 13 years old, an option that did not materialise due to French rules on signing such young players.

A year later, when he was no longer subject to those administrative obstacles, the club had dropped to Ligue 2 and the player's family opted for Monaco, where he stayed until, in 2017, he was transferred to Paris-Saint-Germain.

Caen, who finished sixth in France's second tier last season, is a club that has traditionally been committed to the academy and the development of young players.