It seems like the perennial transfer story, with Kylian Mbappe having turned down Real Madrid on three separate occasions, with Real Madrid’s other attempt to bring Mbappe to the club thwarted by Paris Saint-Germain.
Amid the latest reporting that Mbappe wants to leave PSG at some point in the next 12 months, Real Madrid automatically move into the position of favourites for his next club.
Mbappe’s signing was supposed to be the big name at Real Madrid last summer, but now they must work out if they want to pursue him again and when.
According to Kingcasino’s data, La Liga now just have two of the top 10 most-followed players that attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Vinicius Junior, with 26.5 million followers, ranks fifth, while Luka Modric is just behind him in sixth, with 26 million followers.
It has now been five, two, and six years since Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar Junior left La Liga respectively, which marks out the top three of that list, with Kylian Mbappe placing fourth.
Modric is followed by Kevin de Bruyne and Alphonso Davies to complete the top 10. Yet with the top three most popular footballers on Instagram leaving the league in recent years, it has given light to concerns that La Liga is losing star power, with the departure of Karim Benzema another blow.
For Real Madrid, the signing of Jude Bellingham was key to show that Los Blancos still have an attraction beyond the riches of the Premier League, an important reputational strike. Just as signing Mbappe would be.
The problem was only exasperated by Barcelona’s inability to sign Lionel Messi this summer, with some blaming La Liga’s stricter salary limit rules, although Barcelona’s poor financial state is ultimately culpable.
If Mbappe does not arrive in the next 12 months, then those fears would only continue to grow. Barcelona’s continued struggles mean that the onus is on Real Madrid to continue bringing in world stars for the next couple of seasons. Modric is likely to leave in the coming year or two, and while they can take comfort in the fact that de Bruyne is the only Premier League representative, were Mbappe to end up in England and not Spain, it could spark a crisis of self-image for La Liga.
Barcelona and Real Madrid anticipated struggling to compete with the likes of PSG and the Premier League financially, and are no doubt in a period of adaptation to this new reality. The policy of signing younger rather than established stars is part of that, but Mbappe’s presence in the league could be a turning point.
If Mbappe arrives, then it will show that some semblance of the model is sustainable, and that the biggest stars will still choose La Liga. If not, then it could signal a more permanent slide.
Mbappe along with our young and talented players, could be a part of another dynasty team in next 4-5 years.
But on our terms only.