Still celebrating Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, Real Madrid fans have another reason to rejoice as French superstar Kylian Mbappe, 25, is set to be officially presented at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Tuesday. The event is expected to draw an attendance of 85,000, surpassing the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo 15 years ago.
Tickets for Mbappe’s presentation were free but were quickly snapped up, with reports of some fans attempting to resell them to capitalize on the excitement surrounding the world’s best striker’s arrival. Mbappe will sign his new five-season contract with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in the morning. He will then enter the stadium at midday (11:00 BST) to greet fans and hold a press conference.
Although his new teammates began training on Monday, Mbappe, who captained France during the Euros, will have a few more days off before starting his season in Madrid. Club medics will examine his nose, which was broken during France’s 1-0 win over Austria on June 18th in the group stage, despite France being knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain.
For both Mbappe and Real Madrid, this marks the culmination of a long-awaited union. Mbappe, a lifelong fan of Los Blancos and Ronaldo, will wear the number nine shirt, which went on sale last Thursday and is prominently featured in Real Madrid’s shops.
Coming from Paris Saint-Germain, where he joined in 2017, Mbappe’s arrival follows a disappointing Euros campaign personally overshadowed by Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. His season with PSG was also challenging after deciding not to renew his contract, despite being the club’s all-time top scorer. Mbappe expressed feeling “liberated, relieved” by his transfer to Real Madrid, calling it an immense pleasure and a dream come true.
At Real Madrid, Mbappe will join a new offensive trio with England midfielder Jude Bellingham and Brazil attacker Vinicius Junior under Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti. This prospect excites fans of the club, who recently won their 15th Champions League title in June and are the current La Liga title-holders. Real Madrid will start their campaign against Real Mallorca on the weekend of August 17th-18th, although Mbappe’s debut might be delayed until the following week against Real Valladolid.
The club hopes to offset Mbappe’s costs—a 15-million-euro (£12.8m) salary per season and a signing bonus exceeding 100 million euros (£84m)—through sponsorship deals, ticket sales, and merchandise. Mbappe aims to achieve lifelong objectives of winning the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or with his move to Real Madrid.
Source: ghmediahub
