January transfer window deadline day was Thursday, but the real player transaction news broke today. It is finally happening- Kylian Mbappe has will join Real Madrid once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires this summer. This is according to several credible sources, beginning with Le Parisien, and later confirmed by ESPN.
This blockbuster move has been speculated on for a very long time, and it became a full blown soap opera this past summer.
Kylian Mbappรฉ has decided to leave PSG to join Real Madrid!! Information first revealed by @le_Parisien earlier today and now confirmed. Story here: https://t.co/sSILuwx75K @ESPNFC
โ Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) February 3, 2024
El Derbi Madrileรฑo FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 4,ย 8pm, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Team News for Both Sides: go hereย ย Starting XI Predictions for Both Sides:ย go here
Honestly, this situation got pretty ugly between player and club in the summer of 2023.
And when we say this transfer narrative has been around for a long time, we’re not kidding.
Mbappe to Madrid has been a narrative for the past three summers, so it is a relief for it to finally reach a conclusion now. And the timing is perfect, with the face of the French national team set to see his club contract with PSG terminate on June 30.
Kylian Mbappe is expected to take a sizable pay cut as part of his move to Real Madrid.
He makes this call decision despite Mbappรฉ reportedly having the option to increase his earnings at PSG, if he were to stay.
Obviously, the chances to win bigger trophies at Real Madrid outweighs the added financial benefits of staying in the French capital. After all, no club has won the UEFA Champions League more times than Madrid. And no club has thrown more money at the cause of trying to win the UCL, and never succeeded, than PSG.
Kylian Mbappe ‘s annual salary at Paris Saint-Germain is reported to be around โฌ72 million (gross, not net) for this one season, making him the highest-paid player in the entire world.
I know you might be thinking- “wait isn’t this a major “Here We Go? Where is Fab on this?”
Well, he has been on it:
?? Real Madrid are working VERY HARD behind the scenes on the Kylian Mbappรฉ deal. They are ON IT. @FabrizioRomano #rmalive pic.twitter.com/Nn3trGV5M4
โ Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) February 2, 2024
An official announcement could be coming as early as next week. What a massive buzz this will create heading into the Madrid Derby tomorrow.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย andย theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for theย International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the websiteย onย Twitter.
