Long-time admirers Real Madrid are reportedly on the brink of completing the signing of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker Kylian Mbappe.
The 25-year-old has been a fan of the club since a child and even had posters of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo in the bright white Real Madrid kit. Mbappe is currently finalising the details of his move to the club, according to prominent soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano, who specialises in transfer news.
Mbappe has come a long way since making his breakthrough and becoming the youngest first-team player for AS Monaco in 2015. He lacked game-time that year, but flourished in the second year with an all-competition total of 25 goals, 11 assists and a Ligue 1 title.
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In 2017, Mbappe joined PSG – one of the most successful French football clubs – for 180 million euros. Since then the striker has won the 2018 World Cup with France and with PSG he has five Ligue 1 titles, three Coupes de France and is the club’s all-time top goal scorer and counting with half a season still left to play.
Will Mbappe fit into the current Real team? Fans will have to wait and find out. But what is certain is that Mbappe would make the Spanish club even stronger, alongside the likes of players like Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes. While the Madridistas may be constantly refreshing their transfer story page, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti seems unfazed.
Here’s all you need to know about the Mbappe-Real Madrid saga.
When will Mbappe join Real Madrid?
Real Madrid has already made contact with Mbappe’s representatives. According to reports, the player is set to join the Spanish giants when his contract expires on 1 July, at the end of the season.
What will be Mbappe’s wages and reported transfer fee?
According to Romano, the player will receive a big signing bonus fee of 150 million euros, but his salary will be on par with some of the highest-paid players in the club like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
Mbappe is set to earn 15 million euros per season, according to BBC Sports, compared to the staggering 200 million euros he earned a year at PSG – as reported by The Athletic.
“This will be the most expensive free transfer in history,” said Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol. “The money that Real Madrid would have been paying as a transfer fee, they are going to be paying to the player instead. He will be getting a massive signing-on fee.”
According to Spain’s national sports newspaper Marca, Mbappe’s lawyer Delphine Verheyden is already sorting the player’s image rights – something his representatives have always managed scrupulously.
How long has Real Madrid been after Mbappe?
At the end of the 2021 to 2022 season, Mbappe looked set to leave the French club. Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal even contacted Mbappe, placing a world record 259 million pounds offer on the table. Football fans all over the world, however, knew that Mbappe was only moving to one club if he ever left PSG and that would be Real Madrid.
However, Mbappe ultimately turned down a move to the Spanish that year and signed a two-year contract with PSG again, with a one-year extension clause. The news was a shock for all Madridistas, football fans and club president Florentino Perez. However, the player made sure to personally call and apologise to Perez, while telling him about the contract renewal.
It appears the player will now not opt for the one-year extension and has reportedly told PSG about his decision to leave the club. However, he has not publicly disclosed which club he is heading to.
Is he rumoured to be joining any other club?
Mbappe is one of the biggest names in football right now and while many clubs would love to gain the player’s signature, financial reasons pull most clubs out of the race. One of them is English side Liverpool who have been long admirers of the French attacker.
“I can say that I think he’s a really good player but the financial conditions don’t suit us at all,” Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp told Sky Germany. “I wouldn’t like to ruin the story now… but as far as I know, there’s nothing to it.”
There were also rumours saying Mbappe would be honoured to follow in the footsteps of France legend Thierry Henry and sign for North London club Arsenal. The club’s head coach Mikel Arteta was questioned whether Mbappe could end up at the North London club and he replied saying, “Why not? If we want to be the best team, then you need to have the best players, that’s for sure.”
La Liga president Javier Tebas also confirms that there is a high chance of Real Madrid signing Mbappe. He claims that the team are doing well financially and they would not need any player from the team to depart to make room for the Frenchman. “I don’t know if he’s already signed,” Tebas told L’Equipe. “[But] it’s great news for Real Madrid and for Spanish football.”
While rumours like these are natural for top talents, Mbappe’s likely destination seems to be Real Madrid. Most football fanatics won’t believe a transfer is confirmed until the Italian journalist Romano says so. Watch this space.
