Kylian Mbappe won a number of titles and a lot of money at PSG, but Real Madrid is the place that helped him fly higher and farther in his football career.
The long-running story in every transfer window is about to come to an end. Mbappe has just confirmed that he will leave PSG at the end of the season. He is currently finalizing the final agreement with Real Madrid and waiting for the right time to officially announce it.
Mbappe’s long story
In the summer of 2017, when he was a young player who had just transformed, Mbappe could have chosen Real Madrid before signing with PSG. He could have come to the Spanish capital in the summer of 2021, when PSG firmly rejected a series of offers. Or in 2022, when everyone – including Kylian, his family, president Florentino Perez and Madrid – believed in a free contract, he chose to renew with PSG with terms that had many numbers. 0 on the checkbook. The agreement until 2024, the extension clause for another year was uncertain, but Nasser Al-Khelaifi succeeded in convincing him to take pictures with the number “2025”.
Mbappe is the pride of the people of Bondy, a commune that appeared in the Middle Ages in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, just over 10km from the center of the capital. He had 7 seasons with PSG, with 6 Ligue 1 championship titles out of 13 different cups. Kylian set many personal records in the French football league and is PSG’s all-time best scorer with 244 goals. He reached this number after 291 matches, far ahead of the person behind him, Edinson Cavani, author of 200 goals after 301 matches.
During Mbappe’s time at the Parc des Princes, along with offers from Madrid, PSG continuously improved the football project to serve him and fulfill the ambition that Qatar’s owners constantly mentioned: winning the European Championship. Europe. This has yet to happen despite many stars coming and going, including Neymar and Lionel Messi. 2020 was the time when Mbappe came closest to the Champions League trophy, but PSG had to watch Bayern Munich win the crown.
At PSG, Mbappe matured in all aspects, including his own plans. In addition to developing into the player he is today, he is also the main character of many controversies with PSG members. Former Sports Director Leonardo is one of his big victims. He had to leave so Kylian’s acquaintance, Luis Campos, appeared. From then on, Mbappe’s influence became even greater. But things don’t always go smoothly. Behind the matches are many problems that arise silently.
Last summer, after announcing that he would not renew at the end of the 2023-24 season, Mbappe had a big argument with Al-Khelaifi. PSG removed him from the Asian tour. At that time, Real Madrid was in no hurry to negotiate. Perez and the sports managers in Valdebebas waited for Paris to agree to sell at a reasonable price. Al-Khelaifi got angry and agreed to the offer of 300 million euros from Al-Hilal. However, Mbappe refused because the contract terms clearly stated that the transfer process required his consent.
This is the ideal time for Mbappe to come to Madrid
The controversy lasted for several weeks. Mbappe was dropped from the first team and forced to train with several young players. The conflict was so big that the French Football Federation had to intervene before the parties reached a general agreement to continue playing according to the signed contract. Since then, Al-Khelaifi has constantly given compliments to Mbappe, promising high compensation and a football project revolving around him. Mbappe refused everything. Kylian is so smart, and so is his mother.
Come to Madrid to fly high
Mbappe’s family considers Paris their home. Members of the extended family are living here. Ethan, Kylian’s younger brother, just made his Ligue 1 debut and is on his way to signing the first professional contract of his career with PSG. However, the player born in 1998 does not let too much emotion interfere with his relationship with the club, because that will make making decisions difficult. Simply in terms of football, Real Madrid is his favorite team.
Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world, tried to sign Kylian at the age of 11, but he chose to join the Clairefontaine academy. All of his teammates at that time knew that Kylian was a Madrid fan. “I love Madrid,” Mbappe replied in a France Football interview a few years later. When celebrating his 14th birthday, Mbappe was invited by Madrid to visit Valdebabas and practice with the team, through Zinedine Zidane as football manager.
“I will never forget the moment I met Zidane, we arrived at the airport and met him in the parking lot. He offered to drive us to the training ground and I asked ‘do I have to take off my shoes?’. I didn’t know.” Why do you ask like that, it’s Zidane’s car, I thought I was dreaming,” Mbappe recalled. Zizou drove his family to Valdebebas. There, Mbappe took pictures with his favorite player Cristiano Ronaldo. Although Mbappe also went to the Chelsea academy to train for a short time, his family was against him joining Stamford Bridge.
Finally, historical attraction is bringing Mbappe to Madrid. This is the perfect time for Kylian to realize his childhood dream. “Los Blancos” at this time is different from previous interactions with him. The Ligue 1 stage has become too small for Mbappe’s talent. PSG is also not the right place for him to pursue his dream of raising noble European titles. Staying in Paris, when Ronaldo and Messi have both left Europe, also makes it difficult for him to compete with Erling Haaland in the Golden Ball race. At the age of 25, Messi has 4 consecutive Golden Balls. CR7 was also honored by France Football once. Although he won the World Cup when he was only 19 years old, Mbappe only once reached the Top 3 of voting for noble individual titles (2023). Now, after entering his 25th birthday, Mbappe chooses Real Madrid as a launching pad to conquer heights he has never reached.
