“Imagine — next year, Mbappe is going to be here.”
The Athletic was among a throng of overjoyed fans on Sunday evening in Madrid, the night after Real’s Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund. But this was not the Cibeles fountain in the city centre, where Los Blancos players and fans were celebrating their record-extending 15th European Cup triumph. Instead, this was the scene at the Estadio Butarque to the south of the Spanish capital, home to Leganes. The side from Madrid’s suburbs had just beaten Elche 2-0 to confirm their promotion back to La Liga as champions.
Leganes fans were enjoying a return to the top flight after four years away. Even so, the prospect of seeing arguably the world’s greatest and most popular player live at Butarque — after Kylian Mbappe signed for Real Madrid — was one of the first things to come to mind.
More on Mbappe’s signing
Until recently, fans of other La Liga clubs had that opportunity every season, with former Barcelona and Madrid stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo vying for the Ballon d’Or over more than a decade.
This was an era when FIFPRO’s World XI from each season was often just a ‘best of the Clasico’ XI, featuring world-class players at their peak such as Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Neymar, Luis Suarez and Karim Benzema.
Most of those stars have moved on. Neymar leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 was a blow, Ronaldo’s departure for Juventus a year later was a trauma, and Messi’s free transfer to PSG in 2020 was probably the most difficult to take.
Since then, the stars generating the biggest excitement and bolstering La Liga’s marketing have mostly been emerging players yet to reach their prime. Madrid’s bets on signing Brazilian forwards Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo as teenagers have paid off handsomely. At Barcelona, the most popular fan favourites in recent years have been youngsters Ansu Fati, Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.
Ronaldo and Messi battle it out for Madrid and Barca in 2016 (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
La Liga has kept on attracting big names, even if they have not been at the level of Messi or Ronaldo. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Joao Cancelo made clear they wanted to join Barca despite the club’s financial woes. Mbappe’s France team-mate Antoine Griezmann is very happy at Atletico Madrid, as are Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winners Rodrigo de Paul and Nahuel Molina.
Jude Bellingham’s decision last summer to join Real Madrid instead of Manchester City or Liverpool was another huge boost for La Liga. The young Englishman’s tremendous first year in Spain has brought a surge in his profile and popularity.
But Mbappe is another step up. The 25-year-old Frenchman is the biggest star in world football, a household name who has played in two World Cup finals for France — winning the first as an emerging star at Russia 2018 and scoring a breathtaking hat-trick to almost salvage his side’s hopes against Argentina two years ago in Qatar.
Mbappe’s phenomenal commercial and marketing profile helps explain why Madrid president Florentino Perez pushed so hard to get him over the last decade. Perez even decided against moves for other top centre-forwards including Erling Haaland and Harry Kane to make sure the resources were available to make Mbappe’s signing a reality.
Comparing social media followings is a crude but useful way of measuring the fame and reach of top players.
Mbappe takes a selfie with a fan this week (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo (631 million followers), Messi (503 million) and Neymar (222 million) are still the big three on Instagram, despite their careers winding down in less demanding leagues.
Of players still in their prime and playing on the biggest stage, Mbappe is by far the most popular. He has 117 million Instagram followers after carefully curating ‘Brand Mbappe’ in recent years.
By contrast, his new Madrid team-mate Vinicius Jr has 48 million, Griezmann has 41 million and Lewandowski has 36 million. Bellingham’s numbers have rapidly grown over the last year, but his 32 million followers on the platform are less than a third of Mbappe’s total even after his impressive debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu ended with the Champions League trophy.
Mbappe has built that profile despite playing all his club career in France’s Ligue 1. Even the biggest Premier League stars cannot match his global reach — Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has 63 million Instagram followers, Haaland has 39 million and former Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain Kane has 17 million.
La Liga’s social media accounts sprung into action when Mbappe’s arrival was announced by Madrid on Monday. Nine different tweets hailed the signing and a series of videos and graphics recalled past ‘galacticos’ at Real Madrid and La Liga’s previous French players.
Una nueva 𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔,
en el 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢 @realmadrid. 💫 🤍
#LALIGAEASPORTS | @KMbappe pic.twitter.com/QMqoS0gFFE— LALIGA (@LaLiga) June 3, 2024
Mbappe was equally active on his account. A photo of the Frenchman as a kid wearing a Madrid kit received more than 20 million ‘likes’ within 24 hours of being posted. Once he actually starts playing in the all-white shirt, his follower numbers are sure to rise even further.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has always insisted Messi and Ronaldo’s departures did not hurt the top flight financially, as what makes a league strong is its general level and competitiveness.
“Having a great competition is not just about having great players, you have to do a lot more,” Tebas told Argentine newspaper Ole last month. “We’ve been doing a lot of work and new players always appear. At Barcelona, there are kids like Yamal, Pedri and Gavi. And at Madrid — Vinicius, Bellingham and now Mbappe is coming.”
La Liga’s overall revenues have continued to grow despite Messi, Ronaldo and other legends leaving. Last April, the league reported record total revenue of €5.7billion ($6.2bn; £4.9bn) for the 2022-23 season, an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year, beating its pre-Covid-19 high mark of €5.1bn in 2019-20.
Mbappe joins talents including Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr at Madrid (Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
La Liga’s total commercial revenues also increased by 29 per cent in their most recent accounts, while the 2022-23 season saw more than 15 million fans attend La Liga games, another record.
Mbappe’s arrival should certainly help attract new sponsors and fans.
Investments in marketing and commercialisation through La Liga’s €2.7billion deal with private equity company CVC Capital Partners are expected to pay off in the coming years. Madrid’s shiny new Bernabeu will be a money-spinning stage for their latest galactico to play on, while Barcelona’s rebuilt Camp Nou will boost its revenues when that project is finished.
But Madrid adding Mbappe does look like a problem in terms of the league’s competitive balance. Carlo Ancelotti’s team won last season’s La Liga title by 10 points, even while easing up late on to concentrate on the latter stages of the Champions League. Barca and Atletico experienced disappointing domestic seasons and Madrid’s only challengers all year were surprise package Girona, who ultimately finished 14 points behind them in third place.
No big superstars are expected to arrive at Barca this summer and instead, there will be pressure on the current starts to leave given the club’s need to cut their wage bill. Atletico want to make cuts of their own for the new campaign and elsewhere in La Liga most clubs will wheel and deal as best they can.
Fans of most La Liga outfits know that players who shine at the European Championship in Germany could be lured away by much richer Premier League clubs. Villarreal’s Spanish playmaker Alex Baena and Valencia’s Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili are two players who could be tempted by a move.
The biggest selling point for La Liga’s next campaign will be the presence of Mbappe. Supporters at Leganes and across the league will finally have the chance to see the Frenchman in the flesh. Mbappe’s debut Clasico and first derby against Atletico will be big events heavily promoted across the globe.
But the biggest winners are Real Madrid supporters. Seeing Mbappe live will be one thing; beating his new team quite another.
(Top photo: Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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