After Real Madrid Announces Signing Kylian Mbappe, What Does It Mean For Superstar-less The Team?

What a 48 hours in Madrid.

Two days after winning their 15th Champions League with a win over Borussia Dortmund and finishing first in La Liga, the years-long saga with Kylian Mbappe ended. Los Blancos officially welcomed the French star by announcing his arrival across social media. The 25-year-old Frenchman moves to Madrid after seven years with Paris Saint-Germain.

In 2022, Mbappe almost left for Spain for the first time, but PSG convinced him to stay. According to Fabrizio Romano, he signed a two-year contract extension with a player option in the 2024-2025 season. At the beginning of this past season, the striker told PSG representatives he would not extend his contract and leave the club as a free agent next summer.

Furious, the club benched him to begin the year, but he worked his way back into the squad. After the Paris season ended in the middle of May, Mbappe and Madrid ironed out the details of his contract, making his departure official on Monday. He signed a five-year deal earning just over $16 million per season and a $163 million signing bonus spread over the deal’s life.

Mbappe looks to be the missing piece in a Madrid team teeming with young talent. Four of their ten outfield players in the Champions League final are 25 years old or younger, including the striker partnership of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, who will move to the wings next season with Mbappe joining them.

Meanwhile, PSG is left to pick up the pieces. At the end of the 2023 season, the club had one of the best-attacking trios the world has ever seen, with Neymar, Leo Messi and Mbappe. All three are gone one year later, and little money is being recouped for their departures. The club finished first in Ligue 1 and was knocked out in the Champions League Semi-finals by Dortmund.