With Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé, two of the biggest names in world football are meeting. The first title awaits in the first game.
Kylian Mbappé casually strolled to the plane in a smart suit and black sunglasses. The superstar could hardly wait for his first business trip as a royal. At his presentation in July, Mbappé said that he had dreamed of playing for Real Madrid “since he was a child.” As if he wanted to prove it to everyone, he also showed off his perfect Spanish. He had apparently learned the language in recent years in preparation for a move to the “Royals.” Now the Frenchman’s dream is finally coming true.
And in his long-awaited debut in the Supercup, Mbappé wants to win his first title with the Spanish world club. The Champions League winners will face Europa League champions Atalanta Bergamo in Warsaw on Wednesday (9 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) as clear favorites – and want to give the football world a first taste of its fearsome attacking trio of Mbappé, Vinícius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
“I will give my life for this club and this crest,” announced Mbappé after being “redeemed” after seven years at Paris Saint-Germain. After a mixed European Championship with a semi-final exit and a broken nose, the Frenchman wants to achieve great things in his new home – because a title in the premier class or the award as World Footballer are still missing from his CV for the exceptional talent and 2018 World Champion.
No matter how much money the Parisians had spent on their star ensemble around Mbappé, they never came closer to the Champions League title than in the lost final against Bayern Munich in 2020 – not even when Mbappé played with Lionel Messi and Neymar.
But Mbappé brings another glamour factor to the Madrid team, which is used to success and is playing without Toni Kroos for the first time in ten years. The 25-year-old must now follow up his big words with actions. The star attacker came from Paris on a free transfer, but reportedly received a signing bonus of around 100 million euros. His net salary is said to be 15 million euros. At a pompous presentation, 85,000 fans cheered the new saviour and brought back memories of the performance of Cristiano Ronaldo. Mbappé is set to shape a new era in Madrid.
According to Carlo Ancelotti, Mbappé will bring “his quality, but also his composure, his attitude and his dedication,” the coach said, adding that everyone at Real Madrid “is very happy that he is here.” At the same time, Ancelotti stressed that Mbappé must “adapt to this team, as everyone has had to do.”
Mbappé is not afraid of that. “Uno, dos, tres – Hala Madrid,” he asked the audience at the end of his performance, just as his role model Ronaldo once did in the Real jersey. “CR7” won the Champions League four times with Real, and as a Real Madrid player he was awarded the Ballon d’Or as the best player on the planet five times. Mbappé is missing both trophies – for now.
From Sports
