They are really the kind of players they shouldn’t be signing. Kylian Mbappé has scored 256 goals in seven seasons for Paris Saint-Germain. He is 25 years old, captain of France and one of the best players of the century. The transfer fee Real Madrid pays is zero kroner. On paper, everything is perfect. But Real Madrid risks repeating old sins. The flop of the ages It is by avoiding signings like Mbappé that Real Madrid have become so good. Two things are absolutely clear here: Real Madrid is in a golden age. They won La Liga in May. They have won the Champions League six times in 11 years, something no team has managed since the Spaniards themselves won five straight in the 50s. Kylian Mbappé, who can debut in the Super Cup against Atalanta on Wednesday night, is a superstar. In July, he was presented in front of 85,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabéu home ground. Why is Real Madrid in a golden age? Because they haven’t brought in superstars. PRESENTED: On July 16 this year, the French superstar was presented to fans in Spain. No one should know this better than Florentino Pérez, who bought a number of stars when he first became president in 2000. The team of Luís Figo, Ronaldo, Zinédine Zidane and David Beckham became known as los galácticos. They won a lot at the start, but then there were too many attackers and too little harmony. In February 2006, Pérez resigned. Los galácticos had failed. Nevertheless, Pérez brought in even more stars when he returned in 2009, among them Cristiano Ronaldo. But it is since the summer of 2015 that Real Madrid have been as good as Pérez would like, with four league titles and five Champions League titles in nine years. They have done this by buying a single galáctico. And he totally flopped. EDEN HAZARD: Already four years after he was brought to the club, he put his football boots on the shelf. Eden Hazard is one of the worst signings in football history. The Belgian was 28 when Real Madrid bought him from Chelsea in 2019 for one billion kroner. Four years later, he quit, plagued by injuries, unmotivated and with seven goals in the white shirt. Real Madrid are at their best when they buy players who will become stars. The super talents Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham have risen to world class in Real Madrid. The older signings have been defensive cornerstones such as David Alaba and Antonio Rüdiger, both free. In the last decade, no big club has built the stable in a better way. The British newspaper The Times writes that coach Carlo Ancelotti wanted to buy the 30-year-old goal machine Harry Kane last year. Pérez said no because he didn’t want another Hazard. Real Madrid instead borrowed veteran striker Joselu from Espanyol for change, and now nobody is asking for Kane. The club known for its galácticos is best without buying galácticos. But now comes the biggest star of them all. Posters of Cristiano There are plenty of reasons why Mbappé should strike. He scores goals almost every time he plays. He is 25 years old, younger than Hazard, and very professional. Now that midfield strategist Toni Kroos has retired and Luka Modric is coming to an end, Real Madrid must renew. Motivation should be no problem for Mbappé, who had posters of Cristiano Ronaldo in his boys’ room and trained with Real Madrid just before he turned 14. As Cristiano Ronaldo showed, it’s spectacular when a galáctico actually lives up to the hype. CRISTIANO RONALDO: The 39-year-old Portuguese played at Real Madrid for nine seasons, and has the most goals for the club. But it is equally true that Real Madrid have got a player who takes up a lot of space. And that they already had a team that worked perfectly. Three golden years How much better can things get? Coach Ancelotti already had a robust squad with an attacking trio – Vinícius, Rodrygo, Bellingham – who have brilliant chemistry. Bellingham just became player of the season in La Liga, Vinícius is favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. Real Madrid conceded 26 goals in La Liga last season, the team’s second-lowest average per game since 1965. Five times Real Madrid have won La Liga and the Champions League in the same year. Three of them have come since 2017. READY FOR LA LIGA: Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid’s president Florentino Pérez. It is precisely since 2017 that Pérez has been chasing Mbappé. While the president has been dreaming of his next star, Real Madrid have won three Champions League titles, more than they could ever hope to win with Mbappé. Playing sports director Now he gives Ancelotti a tactical challenge. Real Madrid have Vinícius, Rodrygo and Bellingham, plus the great talents Brahim Díaz and Arda Güler, who wreaked havoc in the EC. And Endrick, the 17-year-old sensation who was recently brought in from Brazil. All are wings, strikers and playmakers who deserve playing time. Where does Mbappé fit in? Vinícius and Rodrygo play as a mixture of wings and strikers, with Bellingham as an attacking midfield. On paper, Ancelotti can use Mbappé at the top, with the two Brazilians on the edge and Bellingham close behind. But Mbappé loves to pull out on the left, where he can cut inside the pitch and finish with his right foot. Vinícius does exactly the same. BIG STAR: Vinícius Júnior has played big on the left for Real Madrid. While it becomes speculative to wonder whether Vinícius and Mbappé find the tone, it is true that Mbappé argued with coach Christophe Galtier at PSG about where he should play. Mbappé did not want to be in the middle, but on the left edge. Mbappé was also involved in two different controversies at PSG, with Neymar and Edinson Cavani, over who should take penalties. The hierarchy in the stable will change. Now Vinícius is the biggest star, but several media outlets write that Mbappé has clearly received the highest salary in the club. The major French newspaper L’Équipe is among those who have asked whether the stable is ready for Mbappé. Then there is the question of how easy Mbappé will be to handle. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN: Mbappé heading for the trophy after beating Olympique Lyonnais in this year’s French Cup final. In Paris, Mbappé argued with President Nasser al-Khelaifi, Galtier and sporting director Leonardo. When Mbappé signed a new contract in 2022, PSG threw out Leonardo and hired Mbappé’s friend Luís Campos. Several media claim that Mbappé demanded to take penalties, and that he was given power over who they bought and sold. He was displeased when PSG used an audio clip from an interview with him to promote ticket sales, without asking permission. Today’s Real Madrid stable has long been free of drama and conflict. Recently, Ancelotti said that they won La Liga last season because none of the stars have a big ego. Has a lot to lose Mbappé’s transition can be seen in two ways. At best, he becomes the goalscorer that makes a good team unbeatable. In the worst case scenario, he becomes the prima donna on huge salaries that tear down the social hierarchy in the stable and destroy the balance in the team. Real Madrid’s downfall in 2006 was that Pérez had brought in players without thinking about how they fit together as a team. Pérez has been obsessed with Mbappé for seven years, regardless of whether Real Madrid have needed a striker or not. For Pérez, the signing of Mbappé is like a trophy in itself. But when your new club has just won La Liga and the Champions League, the drop is big. Mbappé’s first goal will be to show that the team is actually better with him than without. Published 14.08.2024, at 11.01
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