real Madrid
With Mbappé into the new era of the Galacticos
According to media reports, Kylian Mbappé will receive a generous signing fee of 150 million euros. Photo
© Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters Pool/AP/dpa
When the best team in Europe signs one of the best players in the world, one question is: who wants to beat this team? In Spain they are already predicting the “Galacticos 2.0”.
Until the next big fiesta, fans of Real Madrid have to be patient a little longer. The lavish party for their 15th triumph in the Champions League had barely ended when the Royals gave their Madridistas the next opportunity for exuberant celebrations with the long-awaited signing of French football giant Kylian Mbappé.
They won’t be able to see him up close and personal in the white jersey any time soon. “It will be in July,” wrote the Spanish trade newspaper “Sport,” adding: “It will be an event like Cristiano Ronaldo’s presentation ceremony in Madrid in 2009.”
The galactic era is revived
Real has always had teams full of stars, and some superstars like Ronaldo or Mbappé’s compatriot Zinédine Zidane have always stood out. Mbappé, 25 years young, already world champion (2018) and runner-up (2022) is already one of the greats of world football. For now, he will be the personified crowning glory of the Royals.
“With the arrival of Mbappé, (President) Florentino Pérez is reviving the galactic era in which footballers such as Figo, Zidane, Beckham and Ronaldo were in the squad at the same time,” wrote “As”. “Mbappé comes to a young, star-studded team,” wrote the English “Independent”.
Even if someone like Toni Kroos, who would undoubtedly have been a perfect passer for Mbappé with his millimetre-precise passes, ends his career this summer, there are still players like Jude Bellingham, Vincius Jr, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, who are among the best in their field.
“Wedding of the century” as a nightmare for the competition
The homepage crashed briefly when the announcement of the long-awaited and no longer doubted signing was made in a two-line message. His contract is for five years, and according to media reports, Mbappé will receive a generous signing-on fee of 150 million euros, staggered over the five years.
No transfer fee was due, his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of this month. Just like two years ago, when he decided against Real, where he had actually wanted to go for years and where they had wanted him for years. “Nobody can understand how excited I am right now,” Mbappé wrote on Instagram. A dream come true. He also posted photos from his childhood in a Real tracksuit, one with Ronaldo.
For the opponents, the “wedding of the century” (“Le Parisien”) could be the superlative of the white nightmare. “What has been long sought is coming together, a new era is beginning in Madrid,” wrote the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. For the dream of Real, Mbappé apparently even gave up his dream of playing in the Olympics in his own country; according to media reports, he was not called up to the squad.
An event that will only increase the anticipation
After the European Championship at the latest, the presentation date is scheduled for the Frenchman, who scored 256 goals in 308 games during his time at PSG and is set to wear the number 9 for the Madrid club like his compatriot Karim Benzema once did.
There is no doubt that the performance in the legendary, but above all modernized Estadio Santiago Bernabéu will be an event that will increase Mbappé’s anticipation of his debut in the white jersey even further – as well as the fear of his competitors.