Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have left Spain and La Liga is looking for new headliners to renew its “Merengaugrana” bipolarity: Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are the big favorites to succeed the two Ballon d’Or stackers and if the arrival of the Norwegian is one of the main axes of the recruitment policy of Joan Laporta, his Madrid counterpart, he wants to tie up as quickly as possible the arrival of the Frenchman at the end of the contract in June and already free to sign where he wants seems. Editor-in-chief of the Journal du Real and Mediaset correspondent in Paris, Pablo Gallego is convinced of Mbappé’s signing with the Vikingos: “I don’t see him extending in extremis at Paris Saint-Germainhe explains. I think his decision has been matured and taken for a very long time. Despite everything, we know his professionalism, it will not affect his performance in these round of 16.“.
Mbappé and Real Madrid, it’s a story obviously sewn with white thread. The world champion dreams of the club as much as the club dreams of him. Not to mention the socios, Madrid, Spaniards and foreigners, more optimistic than ever. “It becomes clearer day by day if we believe the press“, smiles Gerardo Tocido Pérez, president of the Peña Madridista La Gran Familia who will travel to the Parc des Princes, a stadium he knows very well, and not for the best, since he lived in a C1 final lost in 1981 against Liverpool and two eliminations against PSG in the 90s. The enthusiasm is the same for Luis Carrero, president of the Peña Madridista El 10 in Valencia, even if the thoughts remain focused on this round of 16 first leg: “we are impatient but we know that we still have to wait until the end of the season for the formalization. Meanwhile, there is this double confrontation. And even if it’s bad for us, I’m convinced that Mbappé will make two partidazos“. Founder of the Peña Madridista de New York, Elena Ponce also fears the influence of the potential future defector: “we would like Mbappé to be among us already! If he scores, it better be to close the gap, like 3-1 !”.
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The painful memory of Anelka
The Pyrenean Queralt Castellet, silver medalist in women’s half pipe (5th Spanish medal in history for Spain at the Winter Olympics, it’s well worth a dedication in double cork), knows it: there is the temperature actual and perceived temperature. The same is true at Real Madrid. The jersey weighs much heavier than elsewhere. It is probably the most media-friendly club in the world and you have to be ready to face such pressure, even if Mbappé prepared for it from an early age.
Nicolas Anelka during his presentation at Real in August 1999
Credit: Getty Images
Despite his indisputable talent, his elegance on the ball and his extraordinary abilities, there was a before and after in his career. In the clutches of football business, certainly in its infancy but already carnivorous, Anelka was entitled to treatment of disfavor from the locker room and from a press that went far beyond the framework of harassment. Mbappé will be protected from this. The advantage of signing free is also that we will not talk to him about the amount of his transfer. And it remains unlikely to see him in Marca playing at the Playstation with the title “he played his first derbi … and scored his first goal” to make fun of his scarcity in the face of the cages.
“It’s true that no one gave him a giftstates Gerardo. He didn’t score as many goals as expected (7 in 33 matches, editor’s note), but he gave us a Champions League final. When we know how difficult it is to reach it, we must not forget it. Almost all the French people who have played at Real Madrid have been successful. I have a particular affection for Christian Karembeu. By his technique, his game, his mind, Mbappé is, in my opinion, above all the Tricolores who have worn our jersey“For Elena, having a status guarantees absolutely nothing. You have to get on the level of the merengue institution and it’s not offered to everyone: “Real Madrid is a starting point, not an end. I remember for example that the aficion was more confident with Kakà than with Cristiano Ronaldo. The supporters are demanding, more than elsewhere because, as José Mourinho said, nothing is greater than winning with this shirt. But Mbappé is someone ambitious, with a well-made head and a Madridista who is more. He knows what awaits him“.
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A place awaits him, right side?
Vinicius Jr – Karim Benzema – Kylian Mbappé: the trio makes your mouth water around Avenida de Concha Espino and downright the whole La Liga anxious to find world stars after the end of the CR7-Pulga era. The little novelty of this season is the explosion of the Auriverde on the left side. So: competition on the banda izquierda in anticipation? “A priori in such a configuration, Mbappé would start on the rightadvance Pablo Gallego. Vinicius has already moved on the right and it has not been very conclusive. On the other hand, Mbappé has more adaptability, regardless of his position in attack. And then, that does not prevent tactical evolutions during the match“For Elena, it would bring density to a side where neither Marco Asensio nor Rodrygo nor Eden Hazard managed to come off clearly:”if Vini is indeed untouchable on the left, we have been orphans on the right for very long months“.
Like Vinicius, who has taken on a whole new dimension this season, Mbappé should take advantage of the science of Carlo Ancelotti to expand his register. “I am convinced that he still has to take a step forward in the game and it is at Real Madrid more than at PSG that he can do it”, assures Pablo Gallego. As for Luis from El 10, he is not too worried about the adaptation of the Habs: “he already knows Karim who will be a kind of tutor for him and then we talk about Mbappé all the same, with any coach it does!“.
Pour Gerardo of The Great Family, “if Vinicius continues this momentum, it will be difficult to dislodge him. However, the seasons are long, there will be rotation and all players will be important. You only have to look at the Copa del Rey quarter-final loss to Athletic to realize that it takes a wide squad to hold on and fight to win it all“. The road is still very long but, in the event of a victory in C1, Real Madrid should play in the World Club and the Spanish Super Cup following the World Cup. “It takes both depth but also human management to avoid injuries, he continues. It will be up to the coach to know how to spare it when it is necessary“.
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A mega star in a brand new mega stadium
Real Madrid wants more than ever to become a global club. To illuminate a Santiago-Bernabéu remodeled and built to become much more than a football stadium, Florentino Pérez wants a star and Kylian Mbappé would arrive in the purest galactic tradition. The world champion is the convergence of several worlds and, faced with competition from club-states, The Vikingos must multiply the sources of income. “A big club in a big stadium needs a player of this ilk and, personally, I consider that the best player in the world is already called Kylian Mbappé“, ignites Gerardo.
Imbued with US culture and partner of LeBron James in a Nike collection, Mbappé would arrive at an ideal time for Real Madrid. As part of the marketing of Santiago-Bernabéu, “FloPer” has entered into a 25-year partnership with Legends, a company created through an entrepreneurial alliance between the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) and the New York Yankees (MLB), two behemoths of the sports business. Additionally, the parent company, Sixth Street, owns 20% of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. Enough to convince the American leagues to relocate matches to the merengue lair.
In New York, Elena is convinced that the arrival of Mbappé would offer a very large international coverage to Real Madrid: “Since Cristiano left, he’s been missing that star, that goalkeeper, that clutch player as we say here. The Super League project that Florentino Pérez wanted shows that football needs renewal. When I created the peña 15 years ago, there were a lot of young people. From now on, teenagers are no longer futboleros. You need a media star who is a hit in the Champions League because it is the most watched competition across the Atlantic with the Premier League. It would also give Real Madrid better exposure in the United States. Since the arrival of Messi, we can see the matches of PSG in open channel. I am forced to pay to see those of my team in La Liga“.
If Hazard is the current holder of the precious number 7, that of Juanito, Raúl Gonzalez Blanco and Cristiano Ronaldo, it seems already written that Mbappé will seize it from the start. And Pablo Gallego to conclude: “if Benzema is the major referent in the game, it is Mbappé who will have the real star status. Between him and Real Madrid, it will match directly!“.
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