Fresh off winning its record 15th UEFA Champions League title, Real Madrid officially announced the long-expected signing of superstar forward Kylian Mbappé on Monday.
The contract is a five-year deal worth 15 million euros, equivalent to $16.2 million, per year, per a report from ESPN. Mbappé is also reportedly receiving a signing bonus worth 150 million euros that will be spread out over the course of his contract.
Mbappé and Real Madrid have been linked for several years, as the 25-year-old France national team captain grew up a fan of the powerhouse La Liga club to the point where he took Spanish lessons as a teenager in order to speak the language fluently. However, French club Paris Saint-Germain repeatedly — and often successfully — fought to keep Mbappé around in the short term, even enlisting the help of his friend, France president Emmanuel Macron, at times to convince the superstar to remain in his native country at the club level.
The relationship between Mbappé and PSG has deteriorated, however, in recent years, and after another reported flirtation with Real Madrid last offseason, Mbappé confirmed in May that this current club season would be his last with PSG.
Mbappé remains a France sports icon due to his already-legendary national team career. As a 19-year-old in the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup, Mbappé scored four goals to help Les Bleus win the title and was named Best Young Player in the tournament after becoming the first male teenager to both score a brace in a World Cup match and score in the World Cup Final since Pelé. Four years later, Mbappé won 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup Golden Boot after his eight goals nearly carried an injury-plagued France squad to a repeat World Cup title. However, France lost to Argentina, captained by Mbappé’s then-PSG teammate Lionel Messi, in the final despite a hat trick from Mbappé.
With Real Madrid, Mbappé joins Brazilian forward Vinícius Junior and English midfielder Jude Bellingham to form an attacking trio that seems destined to join other famed Madrid groups among the greatest of all time at the club level.
The addition of Bellingham last offseason propelled Madrid back to the top of club soccer after a disappointing 2022-23 season by its lofty standards. Led by Vinícius and Bellingham, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad won the Spanish La Liga and Supercopa titles as well as the aforementioned Champions League triumph this past season. Vinícius and Bellingham are both considered serious contenders for this year’s Ballon D’Or trophy, FIFA’s award for the best men’s soccer player in the world.
Before Mbappé joins Real Madrid’s two incumbent superstars next season, however, he will lead France into a loaded 2024 Euros field that also includes Bellingham’s talented England squad. Mbappé has also expressed a desire to lead France’s men’s soccer team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, though he will need permission from Real Madrid to do so. Macron’s only comment upon the news Mbappé would leave PSG last month was to urge Real Madrid to grant its incoming star that permission.
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