Kylian Mbappe’s time in Paris comes to an end at the end of season 2023-24, with Real Madrid his next destination. So, who wins and who loses from this monumental move?
Finally, football’s lengthiest transfer saga this decade looks set to conclude with Kylian Mbappe’s lengthy flirtation with Real Madrid set to end in courtship. News broke that the French forward has informed PSG his departure from the club is happening at the end of the season.
According to several reports, Real Madrid has swooped in and submitted a proposal to Mbappe, the forward many argue will end his career as one of football’s greatest ever players, in an attempt to bring him to the Spanish capital in the European summer of 2024.
Mbappe is set to become what he’s been destined to be since he broke onto the world stage during AS Monaco’s 2016-17 Ligue 1 title campaign, the latest in a long, long line of Galactico’s, the sparkling jewel Florentino Perez can add to his Real Madrid crown; someone fit to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Kylian Mbappe joining Real Madrid seemingly a certainty, one must ponder: what will be the knock-on effects of this enormous deal; who wins and who loses?
The winners of Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid move
Kylian Mbappe
For Mbappe, the potential move is a no-brainer. Despite increased competitiveness in Ligue 1, internationally the French top-flight isn’t viewed with the same reverence as Europe’s other top leagues.
His successes in his home nation, and with his national side, mean his status as one of his generation’s greats is all but guaranteed upon retirement. Positioning himself as one of the greatest ever requires a move abroad to test new waters and confirm what we all know: Mbappe’s talent knows no limits or borders.
Where better to relocate than Real Madrid? Historically, Los Blancos are footballing kingmakers. Think of the calibre of stars who’ve strutted through their hallowed doors, succeeded, and left with an undeniable legacy: Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, R9, Luis Figo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema. The list goes on and on.
Mbappe’s equation is simple: succeed at Real Madrid, both domestically and in Europe, and his status as one of the all-time greats will be difficult to question.
Off the field, it should come as no surprise that Mbappe is set to reap significant financial rewards for his move. It’s reported the Frenchman’s salary will be approximately $24.7 million AUD per season.
While this is a significant drop on his current deal at PSG, Mbappe will also receive $247.6 million AUD signing bonus, to be paid out over the course of his five-year contract, whilst retaining a percentage of his image rights
Real Madrid
As usual, Real Madrid somehow, some way, find a way to win. Mbappe’s potential arrival means the club will pair football’s finest forward with its most promising attacking midfielder, Jude Bellingham, and a cluster of young stars capable of dominating the present and the future.
At 25, the Frenchman will be the most experienced of Real Madrid’s first-choice forward line of himself, Bellingham (20), Vinicius Jr. (23), and Rodrygo (23), while Brazilian starlet, Endrick, will barely be able to legally drink when he arrives in July.
Behind them, a midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni (23), Eduardo Camavinga (20), and Federico Valverde (25) form a formidable trio the envy of the footballing world, with Eder Militao (25) fortifying the defence.
In world football such a spine is unrivalled and the fact they could all conceivably dominate for the next decade is frightening. It has everything you’d want in a football team; goals, creativity, bite, touch, poise, tenacity.
Away from the pitch, the fact Madrid was able to secure such a monumental deal without a significant financial hit is a remarkable piece of business. Securing arguably the greatest footballer of his generation on a free transfer means Real Madrid’s compliance with financial regulations, potentially freeing cash up for necessary squad strengthening in other positions, while Mbappe’s salary is hardly bank-breaking for Los Blancos.
Many would expect Mbappe to have broken the record set by former teammate, Neymar (200 million euros) if his transfer required a fee, with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal’s reported offer of 300 million euros in the 2023 transfer window a fair indication of the kind of fortune needed to deprive PSG of their prized possession.
That Mbappe’s transfer doesn’t require a fee is a monumental victory for Real Madrid, even if his wages and signing bonuses probably exceed the GDPs of several small nations combined.
Jude Bellingham
Everyone needs a sidekick. For every Leonardo DiCaprio, there’s a Jonah Hill, every Batman, a Robin, every Cristiano Ronaldo, a Karim Benzema. For every Jude Bellingham, there will be a Kylian Mbappe.
Having a player of equal talent and star power, who can draw the intense heat of the Spanish media, and lighten the on-pitch burden of responsibility will be a godsend for Jude Bellingham.
Birmingham’s favourite son has taken to life in Spain like a duck to water, scoring goals as easily as others draw breath. He’s done so with a stellar supporting cast, they just aren’t Mbappe, a natural, clinical goalscorer with all the attributes to complement Bellingham’s playstyle.
Both languidly glide across the pitch, crash and dart into the box at the perfect moment, possess magical touches and otherworldly finishing and will provide the other with an outlet following a dazzling run or defence-splitting pass. In short, Bellingham and Mbappe will unlock and elevate each other, dragging Real Madrid to more success, more trophies, and spreading the hyper-fixated attention of Spain’s passionate footballing media.
Florentino Perez
Real Madrid is a member-run club, meaning every four years elections are held to determine its president. Florentino Perez has held the title since 2009, and securing Mbappe’s services for the foreseeable future should ensure he remains in power at the end of the club’s 2025 elections, stretching his second stint in the presidential role to two decades.
The European Super League
It was thought to have died almost immediately after it was announced back in 2021, but a recent European Court of Justice ruling has puffed some life back into the concept of the European Super League. Mbappe leaving PSG, a staunch opponent to any potential breakaway competitions, and joining Real Madrid, the strongest supporter of the scheme, is a major win for Perez and Co.
With the door now slightly ajar for a European Super League, or similarly styled breakaway tournament, Mbappe’s potential arrival at Real Madrid means any footballing separatist movement will likely have the game’s brightest star, alongside Jude Bellingham, as its face. That is bargaining power akin to if LIV Golf secured the services of a prime Tiger Woods.
Losers of Mbappe’s Madrid move?
Paris Saint-Germain
It’s not so much on the domestic front where Kylian Mbappe’s departure will be most glaring. PSG’s neverending wealth stream means they boast numerous exceptional attackers such as Randal Kolo Muani, Marco Asensio, Ousmane, Dembele, and Goncalo Ramos. Such is their dominance in France, they’d walk Ligue 1 with Mitch Duke leading the line.
Instead, it’ll be PSG’s pursuit of an ever-elusive Champions League title that will be dealt the biggest blow should Mbappe exit. Mbappe, the club’s record goalscorer, top scored with five goals in their run to the 2020 Champions League final and has top-scored for the Parisians in each of the four following Champions League campaigns.
European success was not guaranteed with Mbappe, that much is true, but the road to ultimate continental glory will be increasingly trickier without Mbappe’s game-breaking goalscoring prowess.
It’s not all doom and gloom for PSG though. Mbappe has, for so long, been the system, demanding pieces and parts be fitted, however well, around him, to suit his needs and mitigate his shortcomings.
Without him, a world exists where the French side is most fluid and more assured in their identity, going from a one-man system to an 11-man unit that could unlock Champions League glory, with early reports suggesting such a pivot is already on the cards in Paris.
Real Madrid’s wingers
It’s one of football’s worst-kept secrets: Kylian Mbappe hates playing striker. It’s the main reason Olivier Giroud’s featured prominently in France’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns. Mbappe operates best when he isn’t leading the line, playing off a more formidable presence up top with the freedom to move and dart in behind as he pleases like a dog off the leash in a park.
Why else would PSG have signed both Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani, two strikers of the traditional mould, to begin the 2023-24 season? Mbappe’s a fantastic striker, no doubt, but a more natural and exceptional wide forward.
Luckily for him, Real Madrid has found success with a striker-less system in 2023-24, where Bellingham takes up positions typically filled by a number nine, and Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo operate as more inside forwards than traditional wingers.
Both Brazilians are fantastic footballers. The harsh reality is that four – Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo – will almost certainly become three next year. With Bellingham and Mbappe immovable from Madrid’s strongest 11, which of the Brazilians misses out remains to be seen, though what’s for certain is whoever eventually does won’t be too pleased. More than anything, footballers want to play football.
La Liga (we’re talking directly to you Barcelona)
Many Barcelona fans must be asking themselves: is this how it felt? When the dominance of Spanish football was all theirs, when success was almost guaranteed, when the best player in world football starred for them weekly, and all opposition dreams of glory were futile.
The shoe is now on the other foot, all hope of future success drained from Catalonia in the face of Mbappe’s likely arrival into the palms of their fiercest rivals, Real Madrid.
For a club in economic dire straits, like Barcelona, which has leveraged assets and sales based on future success, winning is not a luxury, it’s necessary for survival. With the Frenchman firing for Madrid, domestic success is slipping from Barcelona’s grip, drifting off into the distance like space debris.
Just as Lionel Messi didn’t guarantee domestic success every year, neither will Mbappe. He will, however, make it tougher for a club that prolifically self-inflict pain, constantly subjecting themselves to remaining behind the eight ball and papering over their cracks with short-term stop-gap solutions.
All this is compounded by the fact Xavi, the manager who brought La Liga success to Catalonia most recently, heads for the Barcelona exit door at the same time as Mbappe arrives at fierce rivals Madrid. What worse way to begin a transitional phase than having one of the finest footballers of his generation join your traditional rivals?
Saudi Arabia
A Mbappe move to Saudi Arabia, even temporarily, was never really a concrete option, especially considering the forward rejected an eye-watering offer from Al Hilal in July 2023. His move to Real Madrid, however, completely removes a transfer to the Gulf state for the time being, reducing the influence and pull of the league at a time when it’s managed to attract some of Europe’s finest, if oldest, stars.
Had the Gulf state been able to lure Kylian Mbappe, the message to European football would’ve been loud and clear: We’re not just a retirement village, we can grab your brightest talents and compete as a major rival.
That they haven’t been able to do that should come as a huge victory for European football at a time when it probably feels its power threatened for the first time in its history.
Liverpool
Reports have emerged that a Premier League switch could’ve been on Mbappe’s agenda, with Liverpool the apparent favoured destination. While unlikely, Liverpool fans could’ve only dreamed of the Frenchman joining their already frightening forward line, especially if Mohamed Salah’s departure eventuates at the end of this season.
