The worst secret in the world of football has been revealed – this is the meaning of Kylian Mbappe’s giant transfer | Sport

The worst kept secret in the world of football is no more.

On Monday, the parties confirmed that one of the world’s most prominent soccer stars, the 25-year-old Kylian Mbappe is a Real Madrid man.

Paris giants PSG acquired Mbappe from Monaco for 180 million euros in 2017. The transfer fee was the largest in history for a teenager and overall the second largest ever for PSG Neymar-after the acquisition.

Real Madrid tried to attract Mbappe even before he moved to Monaco at the age of 14.

In 2021, Real’s offer of 200 million euros did not work for PSG. At that point, Madrid thought that so be it, we will get Mbappe for free as long as the PSG contract expires.

In the summer of 2022, Mbappe unexpectedly signed a 2+1-year contract extension with PSG. The political leaders of Qatar and France got involved in the negotiations, the president About Emmanuel Macron since – that’s how great Mbappe’s image value was.

PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, i.e. practically the state of Qatar, which wanted to hold on to its mannequin. After all, the World Cup in Qatar was coming up.

In the summer of 2023, Mbappe stated that he is not going to use the option in his contract. From then on, it was practically clear that he would move to Real Madrid. Of course, behind the scenes, the negotiations continued fiercely. Chairman of PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi still dreamed of keeping Mbappe.

Finally, Mbappe, who has admired Real Madrid since childhood, got his dream transfer. The contract is for five years. Mbappe earns a salary of 15 million euros per year and a signing bonus of 150 million euros.

The longest transfer saga in football history is over. But what does this mean for the parties?

What does it mean for Mbappe?

In the national team, Mbappe has already won World Cup gold and silver. He won the French league once in Monaco and six times in PSG.

Mbappe has been talked about as the best in the world for years. Still, football’s most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d’Or, has eluded him. Not even the FIFA Player of the Year award has come.

The biggest dream of PSG’s Qatari owners, the Champions League, has remained a dream. Although there has been endless money, PSG has not become the center of European football.

In Paris, Mbappe was beloved, a local who brought the World Cup trophy to the first place in his childhood, Bondy, a suburb of Paris.

Still, thanks to Real Madrid, Mbappe gets an even better showcase internationally.

Currently a Real striker Vinicius Junior, 23, is the number one favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. He won La Liga and the Champions League in the season that ended.

A couple of years ago, it would have sounded like utopia that the brass would get the Ballon d’Or before Mbappe. Such things are possible thanks to Real Madrid.

Mbappe’s salary dropped significantly when he moved to Madrid. At PSG, he earned 72 million euros per season, plus bonuses.

However, Real Madrid is one of the most followed clubs in the world and Mbappe is already one of the biggest individual player brands.

Normally, Real Madrid takes 50 percent of the players’ commercial image rights. Mbappe gets to keep 100 percent of the income from his previous contracts. He receives 80% of the income from contracts signed as a Madrid player.

What does it mean for Real Madrid?

– He will take us to the next level.

That’s what the Real star said Jude Bellinghamwhen the team had conquered the Champions League for the astonishing 15th time on Saturday.

Real Madrid played this game through again: the best club in Europe signed the best player in the world.

Another very common view in analysis and commentary is: Mbappe needed Real more than Real needed Mbappe.

Will the team perform better without Mbappe? How does he affect the atmosphere? Is it a sound investment financially? At the beginning of 2024, several people in Madrid’s management ladder were suspicious of the chairman by Florentino Perez plans.

However, it’s pointless to think that in Madrid you wouldn’t long for the galácticos times. Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and so on.

It’s rare for the world’s best player in his prime to change clubs, but when he does, it’s to Real Madrid. Similar examples are mostly Cristiano Ronaldo from ManU to Real and Ronaldo from Inter to Real.

At the club and its head coach with Carlo Ancelotti there is enough evidence that star screens can work.

Of course, the most logical solution in terms of football is not always the best solution – let’s talk about that brand value. When Mbappe’s transfer was announced, Real’s website crashed.

What does it mean for PSG?

PSG has invested in the acquisition of superstars since Qatar took over the club in 2011.

When Barcelona knocked PSG out of the Champions League humiliatingly in the spring of 2017, PSG acquired Mbappe and, in a record transfer, Neymar from Barcelona.

When Barcelona ran into financial problems, PSG was the only one who could afford to sign Lionel Messi.

In the past, it was not common for star players to leave Barcelona.

In the end, PSG didn’t even move the continental tiles of European football, it just shook them. Last season, PSG paid its players 395 million euros. However, according to the Transfermarkt website, PSG no longer has a single player among the world’s 50 most valuable players.

Can PSG move on from their galácticos phase? In the summer of 2023, Messi and Neymar already left. The farm was replaced by wholesale young acquisitions, as well as the head coach Luis Enrique.

PSG acquisitions have now included, among other things, the Napoli star Victor Osimhenia and a young magician from Barcelona Gavi.

Last summer, Nasser Al-Khelaifi tried to emphasize that “the club is above everything”. It doesn’t sound like PSG, but healthier than before. For the first time in a while, PSG does not have a single player around whom power and the dressing room revolve.

Could PSG even become a team with room for patience?

Sources: The Guardian, ESPN, The Athletic, Relief, BBC, FLAT