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The appointment is made. The summer of 2021 is likely to upset – positively hope its leaders – the rest of the history of Real Madrid. As we know, the Merengues are seeing the big picture for this next transfer market. A name kept coming back to become the new one galactic of the champion of Spain: that of Kylian Mbappé. The paths of the French and the club of the Spanish capital seem doomed to cross in the years to come. And the possibility of seeing him put on the white tunic is growing as the end of his contract (June 2022) approaches … The Liga team is, more and more, in a position of strength in this case, especially since it can rely on a small jackpot put aside over the past few years despite the coronavirus crisis which has done, as in Paris, quite badly to the club’s current accounts.
The question is not really whether Real Madrid are able to recruit Kylian Mbappé, or if it is realistic to imagine the Bondynois being presented in a Santiago Bernabéu, one hopes, crowded. The answer is simple: yes. Even if, of course, everything will not depend on the institution chaired by Florentino Pérez, while Leonardo and Nasser still have their card to play to convince him to stay. On the other hand, another question arises in the heads of observers, fans and, perhaps even in the brains of Madrid leaders: should we recruit Kylian Mbappé? Is he the player around whom Real Madrid must build their project for the next decade?
Mbappé’s rating is intact in Spain
It must be said that, at the same time, other players of an age around that of the Frenchman are a hit and turn the heads of the fans vikings. In Spain, we talk more and more about Erling Håland, who is no longer presented. All it takes is a wandering ear near a bar counter or spending five minutes watching an Iberian TV broadcast to hear the name of “Jálan” (pronounced in Spanish, editor’s note) come back again and again. If they were to bet on a player next summer, a good part of the aficionados would clearly lean for the Norwegian. A recent daily poll AS revealed that 64% of the fans questioned preferred to recruit the star of Borussia Dortmund rather than the 2018 World champion. It was not so long ago that the French were unanimous, so much so that we remember a few songs claiming his arrival during the presentation of Eden Hazard in 2019.
Have the people of Madrid turned their backs on Mbappé? Not really. If he is more and more criticized in France, rightly or not, the Parisian maintains a good rating in Spain. It must be said that among our Spanish colleagues, vectors of public opinion, we hardly look at the performances of Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, and even in Europe, especially this season when the Spanish clubs played at the same time. than Paris Saint-Germain. Some journalists that we meet in the press stands at the Santiago Bernabéu confide in us without language: Ligue 1, they do not watch! An ethnocentric vision that prevents many from becoming aware of certain flaws in the game of the main concerned. In the land of Cervantes, we remain convinced that Kylian Mbappé is this player capable of stacking the Ballon d’Or in the coming seasons, with this 2018 World Cup and this match against Argentina which is always remembered.
The profile of the Norwegian has it all
Why don’t they want him anymore? If there is one player profile that appeals to Madrid, it is that of a purebred striker, who, beyond the statistics which must be brilliant, turns on instinct and turns everything that he touches in the opponent’s area. Bling-bling, but also sacrifice and work. If there is one player who symbolizes all of this, it is Raul Gonzalez, idol of the crowds for many years. Håland, in a different vein, seems to fill the boxes, at least in the way it’s presented in Spain. And since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, what Real Madrid lacked is goal. Of course, Kylian Mbappé is capable of finishing a season with around twenty goals on the clock, but he does not have this scoring profile, and in Spain, he is seen more as an aisle player, similar to what could have been Gareth Bale (in terms of how to play). In Spain, it is often said, to win you need a top goalkeeper and a top scorer …
Another important point that emerges from our discussions with journalists covering Real Madrid news or with fans is the lack of goal machines in Europe. For them, players like Håland are much rarer than those resembling Kylian Mbappé. Within the Merengue workforce itself, we rely a lot on Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior (the first more than the second all the same, Editor’s note), players who do not have exactly the same characteristics as the player from Seine Saint- Denis but who play in a position and in a register in which the French would play if he were to evolve under the orders of Zidane. More than a matter of pure level, it is a matter of profile and market opportunity that is starting to tip the debate in favor of the BVB player. From now on, it is Florentino Pérez, José Luis Sanchez and Zinedine Zidane who will have the last word …
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