Real Madrid have made a 160m euros (£137m) bid to sign Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.
The French World Cup winner, 22, joined PSG in 2017 in a transfer worth £165.7m and his contract expires in June 2022.
Mbappe has scored 133 goals in 174 games for PSG and won three Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups.
Real Madrid, who have debts of around £1bn, have so far only signed defender David Alaba on a free transfer from Bayern Munich this summer.
However, high earners Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane have moved on to PSG and Manchester United respectively, and Real evidently feel sufficiently confident about their finances to make an approach for one of the most highly-rated players in the world.
It is not known how the fee would be structured.
PSG, who have not yet responded to the bid, signed Argentina forward Lionel Messi earlier this month after he left Barcelona.
If Real are successful, it could trigger a number of deals before the transfer deadline.
It is known Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Juventus is uncertain and PSG are thought to be interested in the Portuguese, which raises the intriguing possibility of a link-up with Messi, his rival for the world’s best player for well over a decade.
Manchester City are among the clubs to have been offered Ronaldo but are not thought to be interested in a deal.
Last week both Ronaldo and Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri denied the forward wanted to leave.
