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After six years of playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world, one of the world's best players — Kylian Mbappe — has decided he wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the expiration of his contract in 2024.
Despite Mbappe's individual success, his tenure at PSG will likely be dubbed a failure. His time at the club was marked by continued domestic dominance but an inability to win the big prize: the UEFA Champions League. Mbappe joined the club at age 18 after having a breaking out at fellow French side Monaco, and will have one more season to prove himself in Paris before moving on to bigger and better things in Europe.
Very few clubs have the money, profile, and room in their team to accommodate a superstar like Kylian Mbappe. One club that does possess these tools is Real Madrid. Here are three reasons Los Blancos must do everything they can to sign Kylian Mbappe.
3 reasons Real Madrid must break the bank to sign Kylian Mbappe after telling PSG he wants out
1) He is the perfect replacement for Karim Benzema
Few, if any, strikers in Europe have been more prolific over the last few seasons than Karim Benzema. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Benzema has 75 goals in 89 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid. This is the same player who averaged a modest 14 goals a season in LaLiga during the decade or so he played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
Even after the stellar Portuguese attacker left, it took 15 goals during Real's 21-22 UEFA Champions League-winning campaign for Madrid fans — and the footballing world — to finally realize Benzema's value to Los Blancos.
Kylian Mbappe offers a different kind of threat to his French teammate. He brings speed in behind, the ability to beat his man off the dribble, plus unlimited flair. And his production does not lie. Mbappe has 110 goal contributions (80 goals and 30 assists) across all competitions for PSG since the beginning of 2021-22.
No young attacker in all of Europe offers the creative threat of Kylian Mbappe, and he provides the final product as well, which makes him a generational talent.
2) Madrid is an aging team that needs young talent
The core of the Real Madrid teams that won three consecutive Champions League Finals between 2016 and 2018 is finally starting to fall apart. Ronaldo left in the summer of 2018 and Thibaut Courtois replaced Keylor Navas in goal that same year. More recently, the departures of defenders Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, and Raphael Varane signaled the impending end of an era.
With Karim Benzema leaving for Saudi Arabia, this leaves the aging midfield duo of Luka Modric (36 years old) and Toni Kroos (32), plus 30-year-old defender Dani Carvajal. Upgrades in the midfield are also needed, but Kylian Mbappe provides an immediate impact up top.
Playing alongside young wingers Rodrygo (21) and Vinicius Junior (22), Mbappe (24) cements a talented front three that will lead Madrid for years to come. The next generation is here.
3) Madrid needs to revive its Galacticos era.
At its best, Real Madrid is a team of superstars. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, even going back to the early Galacticos days of David Beckham and Brazilian Ronaldo. These high-profile players established Real Madrid among the elites in world football.
The Real Madrid team that won the 2022 Champions League Final was far different from the squads that took home the title in 2016, 17, and 18. The '22 team was built on defense, relying on Thibaut Courtious' stellar play in goal, Casmeiro's staunch midfield play, and Karim Benzema's uncanny finishing up top.
In all honesty, that 2022 triumph was incredibly lucky. This was not a Madrid team that dominated games with attacking football, and its profile dipped due to a lack of superstars. Real has shifted its focus to buying young players before they break out, but it is time for the club to reestablish itself on the world stage. Kylian Mbappe would be the player to achieve this.
