When Real Madrid target a player, they tend to get their man, even if they have to wait. They had to wait to lure Eden Hazard to the Santiago Bernabeu, trailing the Belgian for a number of seasons before eventually signing him from Chelsea last summer. This track record suggests to many that Kylian Mbappe will one day play for the club.
Real Madrid’s interest in the French forward is thinly veiled. Zinedine Zidane is widely believed to be a huge fan of Mbappe, although at this stage who isn’t given his undeniable status as one of the best forwards in the European game at this moment in time?
As if he needed to, Mbappe reminded us all of his quality in coming off the bench for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter final against Atalanta, turning around a match which looked set to send the French side crashing out of the competition in humiliating fashion.
It was the sort of performance that only bolstered further the widespread belief that Mbappe is the sport’s next great superstar. And the sort of display that surely had Zidane along with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez dreaming of seeing the Frenchman in all white at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Until the global coronavirus pandemic struck, it seemed likely that Real Madrid would make their move for Mbappe this summer. The forward’s PSG contract ends in the summer of 2022 and reports have consistently stated that he is putting off signing an extension, keeping his options open as long as possible.
Now, though, noises are coming out of the Santiago Bernabeu that Real Madrid won’t have much money to spend this summer. Any transfers they do make will have to be funded by the sale of players already on their books, perhaps explaining why Los Blancos accepted an offer of €40 million from Inter for Achraf Hakimi earlier in the summer.
It appears highly unlikely that Real Madrid will be able to raise the funds required for a move for Mbappe and so the Frenchman is expected to stay at PSG for at least another season. Many believe it is his destiny to one day become a ‘Galactico,’ but another summer looks set to come and go with the French forward still not pulling on the famous white shirt.
How well do you know European Football? Want to challenge the best Spanish Fantasy Managers? Play www.liga-fantasy.com now.