The 10-year chase to land soccer’s modern megastar
Kylian Mbappé was 14 years old when Real Madrid first brought him in for a tryout—and the club was determined to impress him. Real sent Mbappé’s fellow Frenchman Zinédine Zidane to meet him at the airport. It introduced him to his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Then it handed him some kit and ran him around the practice facility of one of the most storied soccer teams on the planet. The visit left an indelible mark on both parties. Mbappé returned from Madrid dreaming of some day pulling on the famous white jersey once again.
And Real vowed to bring the boy-wonder back the moment he turned into a superstar. It all just took a little longer than planned. Now, after one of the longest courtships in sports, Real Madrid finally appears to have its man.
This summer, it expects to bring Mbappé, a World Cup-winner and a kid raised on Real Madrid highlights, onto the stage he’s been craving. Reports first surfaced last week in Spain and in France that Mbappé, 25, was ready to inform Paris Saint-Germain of intention to leave when the transfer window opens this summer. Neither PSG nor Real has commented on it publicly.
But after at least two previous attempts to sign Mbappé fell short, all indications are that Real won’t miss again. The transfer has become such an open secret that even Mbappé’s France teammates have taken to joking about it. Once he completes the likely move, Mbappé would join a squad that won the Champions League two years ago, a manager in Carlo Ancelotti with a reputation for polishing superstars, and one of the brightest young talents in the game in English playmaker Jude Bellingham.
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