Now that UEFA Euro 2024 is over and Spain have been crowned champions, Kylian Mbappe has completed his move to Real Madrid and the Spanish giants unveiled France’s international captain to much fanfare at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has so far not enjoyed the success he hoped for in 2024, but he has now achieved one major career goal by moving to La Liga: fulfilling his youthful fantasy of signing for Los Blancos, just like his hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
“This was a childhood dream of mine,” Mbappe said on Tuesday at his lavish unveiling in the Spanish capital, just over two weeks after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain officially expired. “There it is, I am now a Real Madrid player. It gives me and my family a lot of satisfaction. I knew that my life’s goal was to play for Real. I have had that vision since my childhood. I am humbled because today I become a member of the largest club in the world.
“My objectives are to respect the values of this club,” the French superstar added of his hopes now that he has made the long-discussed move to the European champions. “My priority is to integrate myself into this team and I hope this goes well. I was convinced that this moment would come. Real was the only solution for me. I received other offers from other clubs, but I always said the same thing : If I were to leave Paris, it would only be for Real Madrid.”
Mbappe may be celebrating the completion of his coveted Real transfer, but there is little to cheer about so far in 2024. The former AS Monaco man left PSG under the clouds after failing to take Les Parisiens to UEFA Champions League success and that semi-final defeat had been followed by another setback in the last four against France at the European Championship, with eventual winners Spain knocking out Didier Deschamps’ men. Mbappe’s hopes of a double dose of international action this summer have already been dashed with Real blocking him from taking part in the Olympics, so where are his Ballon d’Or chances?
Sign for real: success
Mbappe’s career is back on track as he has joined Real and the on-off saga that may see him leave PSG for the defending La Liga champions is now a thing of the past. The man from Bondy has opted out of the final year of his contract at Parc des Princes and was now set to enter his final year, but those plans were put forward and Mbappe has secured his dream move, adding himself to the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude. Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga in Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded squad. That said, he joins at a time when Real are defending the Spanish and European kings, meaning anything less next season will be seen as disappointing.
Champions League: failure
On the pitch, however, it was a completely different story for Mbappé. PSG may have won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, but they fell short in the UCL when well-placed in the semi-finals and not having the chance to win the title with Les Parisiens – against Real – was a missed opportunity for him. Three last four appearances and one last defeat with PSG were not a bad record for Mbappe, but his role in a meek semi-final at Borussia Dortmund was impossible to ignore and did little to prepare him for the European Championship.
Euro 2024: Failure
Another failure that must now be regarded as another failure given France’s performance to the semi-finals despite poor play with Mbappe scoring just once from a penalty and also suffering a broken nose in the opening game. While that physical issue hindered his ability to perform in Germany, from an individual and collective perspective it cannot excuse a poor tournament overall. Questions are now starting to be asked in France about where the Mbappe from the 2022 World Cup final has gone. There will of course still be a chance for World Cup glory in 2026, but his European Championship record is poor and will now last until 2028, along with questions about his leadership.
Olympic Games: failure
There won’t even be an Olympic gold medal to make up for this as Thierry Henry will be without many star names after Mbappe and others were blocked from representing the host nation in the capital. After initially seeing potential UCL, Euro and Olympic successes, Mbappé is suddenly facing reality without any of the three and only his successful move to Real to put 2024 in a positive light, while it is still only a few months ago it looked like he was ready to win it all.
Ballon d’Or: Failed
The assumption must be that Mbappé will not win this year’s Ballon d’Or award, which would almost certainly have been his had PSG won the Champions League, had France been better and gone further in Germany and had he been in had managed to take home a gold medal. for the French. Instead, there’s a good chance he’ll see someone else – possibly Rodri – collect the award, making his first few months at the Santiabo Bernabeu now crucial.
Pressure: assembly
Mbappe arrives in Madrid with a superstar reputation and big numbers from his time at PSG, but without any titles to his name. A UCL crown is missing, although he is arguably in the right place for that, as well as his first Ballon d’Or, and the wait for a Euro will be at least another four years. He did win a World Cup title compared to most of his competitors, but that is now six years in the past and a dip in form has already been noticed in the 2023-2024 period. First and foremost, Mbappé needs to get back into top form and fitness before focusing on success at Los Blancos. A slow start could make it very difficult for the Frenchman to progress, as the pressure at Real only increases and the bar in terms of expectations is extremely high.
