Will Kylian Mbappé make Real Madrid an unbeatable team? It won't be that easy!
The summer transfer of the French superstar to the Spanish big club carries two big risks
The elite leagues had a national break, so we can discuss one upcoming gigantic summer transfer together. Kylian Mbappé will swap Paris SG for Real Madrid. Will the White Ballet become unbeatable with the arrival of the French superstar? It won't be that simple.
Before we thoroughly dissect the pros and cons of Mbappé's summer move, let's recap what we know about his transfer so far. This February, influential Spanish daily Marca reported that the French national team captain had already signed a five-year deal at Real Madrid. An annual salary? 20 million euros net plus bonuses.
Mbappé was to personally notify the president of Paris Saint Germain, while asking him not to make any further offers to extend his contract to the club's management. The star gave up a third of the big bonus he would have received under his contract with PSG.
Real Madrid, on the instructions of president Florentino Pérez himself, kept Mbappé's salary in line with the club's ceiling. The management did not want any animosity to arise in the cabin over the fact that the French reinforcement would have a significantly higher salary than the team's current mainstays.
The five-year contract will earn Mbappé 15 million euros each season. On top of that, he will receive a signing bonus of 150 million euros, which will be paid out gradually. The striker will be given the freedom to handle his own marketing rights.
These are much more modest financial terms compared to the offer Mbappé received last summer from Al-Hilal, the club where Cristiano Ronaldo is based. The Sheikhs would pay the French €700 million for a one-year commitment!
But they failed. The sporting goals of the brilliant striker took precedence.
Fans of the White Ballet can already look forward to July 1, 2024 twice as much. One boredom to be able to see the newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the first time with their own eyes and at the same time Kylian Mbappé should be officially presented!
For him, Real Madrid has been a dream team since childhood. At the age of 13, he even visited Real's academy to see what it's like at the world's top club. Mbappé's uncle Pierre, who accompanied him, also had a great experience.
"I am very grateful to Kylian. I would never have imagined that thanks to my 13-year-old nephew I would get to know such big clubs as Real Madrid and Chelsea up close. And it has happened. It was a great pleasure for me to talk to Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane," Pierre Mbappé recalled.
Now his nephew will meet Ancelotti in the same booth.
What will all this bring?
Will the Mbappé Vinícius Junior collaboration work? Or will they be more at odds with each other on the pitch?
How will his arrival affect Real Madrid's defensive performance?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Simon’s Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.