So, it's finally happening: Kylian Mbappe should be moving to Real Madrid next season. He has gone as far as to tell his Paris Saint- Germain (PSG) team-mates that he will be leaving PSG. As per
Mario Cortegana and Colin Millar (The Athletic), at the same time, he did not announce which club he would be signing for. However, he did inform a few close friends of joining Real Madrid. However, this has been met with skeptricism as this has been said in the past yet he remained in Paris.
I am so happy that this saga will finally come to a close. Hearing this "will he or won't he" going on and on can be so tiresome. This is football not a sitcom like Friends and we can have a few laughs and debate whether Ross and Rachel should end up together or not. This is real life and real situations. These matters impact actual people. It's no laughing matter.
It really goes back 2 years ago when Mbappe came out publicly saying that he wouldn't be renewing his contract with PSG. It was in the summer transfer window that Real Madrid made an offer of well over 200 million Euros which was rejected. It also came to light that he spoke to Florentino Perez (the Real Madrid president) staating that he would not be renewing his contract. At the end of that day, he would sign a contract extention following positive talks with PSG chiefs.
Fast forward a year and he stated through Agence France-Presse that he would not renew his contract and thus become a free agent on 1 July 2024. The response was not all sunshine and rainbows. At the unveiling of the new head coach, Luis Enrique, PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, effectively blackballed Mbappe by excluding him from the pre-season tour and given an ultimatum: sign a new contract or face being on the bench for the entire 2023/24 season. He would later be re-integrated into the squad. To me, this was done out of desparation as PSG weren't performing well.
To me, the whole manner in which PSG has handled the whole situation is just plain selfish. Kylian Mbappe has always wanted to play for Real Madrid. He has gone as far as to accept a pay-cut. If a certain player wants to join a certain club and that club comes calling, you should allow him/her to join that particular club. Situations like these shouldn't resort to a repeat of the Biblical story of Moses and the freeing of the Israelites from slavery by the Egyptians. The one obvious difference is that there will be no plagues taking place - unless I'm missing something.
There is a word of caution for Real Madrid. They should not attempt to build another "Galacticos" - a team filled with superstars. They already have Jude Bellingham, who has become a complete revelation for them. If this is done, ego's will get in the way and that will ultimately derail their campaigns/seasons and will win just a few titles, if any. Proof of this was Real Madrid's previous "Galacticos" team between 2000 and 2006. No Champions League title wins and only 1 La Liga (Spanish domestic league) title.
The moral of all this is that you should allow people to chase their dream moves and positions. If that opportunity comes knocking, you should accept it and move on. You shouldn't sulk and forbid it from happening. A second one to consider is the youngsters. 99% of the time, you cannot buy success by throwing money everywhere possible. The academy can be the answer to any problem areas you might suffer from.