Julius OkorieAfter two years of intensive pursuit, 15-times UEFA Champions League Champions, Real Madrid, have finally got their man, Kylian Mbappe.
The Paris Saint-Germain star and World Cup winner, left the French club at the end of the season on free transfer. Recall that he cost the French Club £166 million in 2018.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelReal Madrid have had their eyes on the 25 year old since 2022 and are glad to finally have him in the fold where he is expected to tango with other fantastic players that rock the show at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mbappe is expected to be announced officially at Madrid on Thursday, June 6, after which he will be officially unveiled in their traditional style to the press and fanbase.
The 25-year-old, who scored 256 goals in 308 appearances for PSG, is sealing a five-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu worth (£12.8m) (€15m) a year after tax.
Real will pay the signing-on bonus in instalments throughout his time at the club.
Real Madrid have been long-term admirers of Mbappe, having tried to sign him in 2022, but the French forward committed to a new two-year deal at the Parc des Princes, which has now expired.
Mbappe, who has French Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, as one of his big admirers refused to activate a one-year extension in his PSG contract, which has allowed him to move for nothing, just six years after costing the French club £166 million.
The World Cup winner has taken a pay cut to move to actualise this move. He was on €75m (£63.9m) gross in the final year of his PSG contract, and was also getting a €30m-a-year (£25.6m) signing-on bonus.
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Speaking to Forbes about his future as he prepares to leave Paris, Mbappe said: “I want to be happy. I will leave my country for the first time.
“It’s going to be an amazing experience and I can’t wait to be in my new club. I want to win trophies. When you speak about football, [it’s about] winning trophies, being with new team-mates.”
For Carlos Ancelotti the coming of Mbappe means increased playing options. He can opt for Vinicius and Mbappe in a two-pronged attack, like what Vinicius and Rodrygo have been doing this season. It will be a busy period for Mbappe this week as he joins Madrid on one hand and features in Euro 2024 for France on the other.
He will feature in a friendly against Luxembourg on Wednesday and will then travel to Spain to complete the deal before he jets off to Germany with the national team.
France manager Didier Deschamps has previously outlined that he wanted Mbappe’s future to be resolved before the tournament begins for Les Bleus on June 15.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
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