Kylian Mbappe and the story of Real Madrid’s decade-long ‘obsession’ to sign him

By
James BAOUCH
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A version of this article was first published in June 2023. It has been updated as Kylian Mbappe is presented as a Real Madrid player.

Kylian Mbappe’s arrival on a free transfer after leaving Paris Saint-Germain is both a huge coup and a massive relief for Real Madrid.

All the most important planning at Madrid in recent years — transfer policy, the €1.7billion (£1.4bn; $1.8bn) stadium renovation, the European Super League project — has taken place on the understanding that Mbappe would sooner or later end up at the Santiago Bernabeu. Many figures inside and around the club have described it as an “obsession” for Madrid’s all-powerful president Florentino Perez.

This was no secret project undertaken behind the scenes. Madrid fans were constantly fed the idea via the local sports media that Mbappe was close to joining a team he had longed to play for since he was a boy.

In recent years a widely-held feeling took hold among most Bernabeu patrons that Mbappe was — in some indefinite but significant way — already their player. When PSG visited Madrid for Champions League games in 2019 and 2022, many supporters were thrilled by his performances even as their own team suffered from his talent.

In May 2022, Madrid thought they were well-placed to land Mbappe before he extended his deal with PSG. The summer before that, they failed in attempts to sign him that began with an opening bid worth €160million.

Perez himself never denied that he was doing everything to make sure Mbappe eventually joined, even during those awkward moments when the player spurned his club’s advances. Other potential top attacking signings — including Erling Haaland and Harry Kane — were not seriously pursued as the ‘Mbappe fund’ was built up and maintained.

Having generated such hype and expectation, Perez had to make sure the move happened. Mbappe re-signing with PSG, or being tempted to the Premier League, would have been a disaster on many levels. He will be hugely satisfied now.

Here, The Athletic breaks down the tumultuous history behind Madrid’s decade-long pursuit of one of the world’s greatest players. It’s a story of intrigue, secrecy and mutual admiration.

The early years

Mbappe has never hidden his love for Real Madrid. That much should be clear from the now-infamous picture of him surrounded by posters of Cristiano Ronaldo in his childhood bedroom.

The story goes that a family friend once offered Mbappe a replica model of the Bernabeu when he turned 10. He responded by saying: “One day, it’s me who’s going to take you to Real Madrid in the VIP stand.”

He did not have to wait long to visit the Spanish giants. Mbappe was invited to Valdebebas, Madrid’s training ground, in December 2012. The then 14-year-old reportedly took part in a training session, played a small-sided game, and attended a match against Espanyol.

But by far the most exciting moment for the youngster was a photo taken with his childhood idol Ronaldo. In it, Mbappe wears a Madrid tracksuit top and holds up two fingers to the camera, with the Portugal star doing a thumbs-up gesture.

It was an episode recalled in Mbappe’s autobiographical comic book My Name is Kylian, which also shows Zinedine Zidane giving the starstruck teenager a lift to the training complex. On the plane back, Mbappe’s father asks him if he had a good weekend. “The best of my life,” he replies.

“He was one of my childhood idols and it was nice to meet him when I visited Valdebebas,” Mbappe said of Ronaldo in an interview with Marca before PSG faced Madrid in 2018. “I worshipped him when I was younger but that’s over. Now I’m going to the Bernabeu to play and win.”

Zidane wanted Mbappe to sign for Madrid at that young age but the future World Cup winner turned them down as his family wanted him to stay in France. He moved to Monaco instead but Madrid kept a close eye on him.

“My parents wanted me to start my career in France, for me to have a French education,” he told French news magazine L’Obs in 2021, “for football but also to continue my education. Going to Spain, even if it was with Zidane, was another country, another culture.”

Undeterred, Madrid re-entered Mbappe’s world in 2017, just as he was coming to the world’s attention.

Summer 2017

Once he had turned professional, the first significant chance Madrid had to sign Mbappe came in 2017. They held various conversations with the young forward’s entourage and even began negotiating with Monaco.

Mbappe had announced himself to the world with his performances that season, scoring 26 goals in 44 appearances to help a youthful Monaco side win Ligue 1 and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Several clubs were ready to shell out for the teenager, which led to an official statement from his club in July.

“AS Monaco observes with regret that ‘big’ European clubs continue to stay in contact with Kylian Mbappe (and his entourage) without his authorisation,” the text read. The club also threatened legal measures.

That did not stop Madrid, who moved ahead of PSG and Manchester City in the race to sign Mbappe, and even reached an agreement in principle with Monaco worth €180million for his signature in August.

“I remember we were training and Real Madrid called me and I said, ‘We accept €180m for Mbappe’,” Monaco’s then vice-president Vadim Vasilyev told Canal+ in 2018. “I see Kylian afterwards and I tell him: ‘We’ve received an offer which is impossible to reject. It’s the club of your dreams. Think hard about it and tell me your response.”


Mbappe helped Monaco reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2017 (Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

From Madrid’s perspective, they blame Mbappe’s father Wilfried, who was, at that point, the most important person in his son’s career, for the deal breaking down. Wilfried had doubts about how important Mbappe would be at Madrid. Even though Zidane was manager, the chances of breaking up a front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale appeared slim.

Those doubts allowed PSG to steal in ahead of Madrid. According to a source close to the deal which eventually took Mbappe to Paris on an initial season-long loan that summer before it became permanent a year later, it was a case of teamwork between sporting director Antero Henrique, Luis Ferrer, manager Unai Emery and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Like all sources cited here, they requested anonymity to protect relationships.

All of those figures were aware that Mbappe’s dream was to end up at Madrid and that practically the only thing left was the Frenchman’s signature. PSG also had potential Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions to deal with, having already agreed to sign Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record €222m (£190m; $239m).

Again, Mbappe’s father’s presence was crucial. Knowing that he was nervous about his son’s role in the team, PSG promised Mbappe a starting role and came up with the initial loan deal with an obligatory option to buy.

Summer 2021

Madrid were aware Mbappe was a generational talent and continued to follow his progress, with the young forward lifting the 2018 World Cup with France a year after their failed attempt to sign him.

The plan was to keep on nurturing their relationship with the forward and his entourage behind the scenes. Madrid were convinced PSG would not sell their biggest star and so they acted cautiously.

In July 2018, Madrid even posted an official statement denying rumours they had agreed a deal with PSG for Mbappe, labelling them “entirely false”.

Their next attempt had to wait until 2021, when Mbappe took a significant step. In late July of that year, he told PSG he wanted to leave for Madrid.

“I asked to leave and from that moment, I didn’t want to renew,” Mbappe himself said in an interview with RMC Sport the following October. “I wanted the club to find me a move so they could have the money to find a quality replacement.”

Mbappe was disappointed by how that summer panned out. According to Madrid sources, the Spanish club made two formal offers to PSG in August, neither of which received a response.

The first was for €160million. The second was for €170m with €10m more in variables. On the final day of the window, they told PSG they were ready to break the record €222m fee the French club had paid for Neymar but again, they received no response.

PSG argued Madrid’s offers were never formalised and they were therefore of the view there was nothing to which they should respond. Leonardo, PSG’s then-sporting director, also called Madrid’s approaches “insufficient” and “disrespectful”.

Al-Khelaifi was also firm when he was asked about the subject following the draw for the Champions League group stage on August 26 that year. “We’ve always been very clear in terms of our position — we’re not going to change.”

Summer 2022

Months went by and Mbappe could only watch on as Madrid produced an epic comeback to beat PSG in the Champions League round of 16 — another failure in Europe’s premier club competition for the Parisians, with Karim Benzema’s hat-trick snuffing out Mbappe’s two goals across both legs.


Mbappe and Ancelotti after Madrid’s Champions League win in March 2022 (John Berry/Getty Images)

With his contract due to expire in 2023, negotiations over an extension began with PSG. Fayza Lamari, Mbappe’s mother, was now the most influential person behind her son’s career decisions.

In the early stages of negotiations, Mbappe’s entourage did not respond to PSG’s attempts to convince Mbappe to stay, which even included asking him to choose his figures in terms of remuneration. The most likely option seemed to be the Frenchman joining Madrid.

The Spanish club were in touch with Mbappe’s camp, too. One significant detail from Lamari’s tactics was that she ensured her son would receive 100 per cent of his image rights, which was an unprecedented and historic concession from Madrid. But they still struggled to reach an agreement and the Mbappes also kept on listening to PSG — even while Spanish media outlets assured their readers that everything had been finalised.

PSG involved the Qatari authorities and even French president Emmanuel Macron, who called Mbappe several times to convince him to stay.

The French club used a similar strategy to the one they adopted in 2017. They promised the player a voice in the club’s decision-making as well as a project to challenge for the Champions League, which he accepted.

When Mbappe agreed to stay at PSG, a huge party took place at their Parc des Princes stadium during which Al-Khelaifi and Mbappe posed for photos together, and the forward held up a shirt with the number “2025” on the back.

Kylian Mbappe, PSG


Mbappe’s contract really ran until summer 2024 (Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images)

But it was simply a marketing gesture. In reality, Mbappe’s deal was until 2024, with the possibility he could extend for another year if he activated a clause unilaterally.

That was in May. By July, Mbappe had expressed his displeasure with the way PSG’s project was going and he asked to leave. PSG, according to sources close to the player, vetoed Real Madrid as a destination and put a price tag of €400million on him.

The forward said something that he repeated to sporting director Luis Campos months later: he felt tricked. By July, Mbappe already felt disappointed that PSG’s pursuit of his France team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco would fail, given he had chosen Madrid instead, while the signings of Robert Lewandowski (who joined Barcelona that summer) and Milan Skriniar (who did join PSG but the following year) were also looking unlikely, in no small part because of problems with FFP.

Over that 2022-23 season, Mbappe squabbled with Neymar over who should take penalties. With manager Christophe Galtier he disagreed over his position and even posted a message on Instagram to that effect — he wanted to play on the wing and not as a “pivot” in the middle.

According to PSG sources, those tensions calmed down in January but, as The Athletic reported, he was still in contact with Madrid. Their view was that if Mbappe were to become available, they had to have a plan in place and the money ready to sign him.

Summer 2023

For a third summer in a row, the relationship between Mbappe teetered on the brink, with the whole saga set in motion once again in early June. That was when Mbappe told Paris Saint-Germain, via letter, that he did not want to activate the option for a one-year extension in his contract.

As a result, he was unceremoniously chucked into the ‘loft’ — a group of players who are not seen as part of the team’s first-team plans — and then left behind from the club’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea. He was put up for sale and for all intents and purposes, disregarded.

Mbappe’s camp issued a statement to French news agency AFP insisting he had told them of his decision last year, just weeks after he signed his deal. PSG, who were annoyed by the manner of their star player, refuted this and also described Mbappe’s claims there had been no renewal talks since as “emphatically untrue”, adding that there was “no way” Mbappe would leave on a free transfer in 2024.

When a French media report claimed Mbappe had already made the decision to join Madrid and wanted to go as soon as possible, the player denied the story in a post on social media.

“LIES,” his message read. “At the same time, the bigger it (the lie) is, the more easily it’s accepted (as truth). I have already said that I’m going to continue next season at PSG, where I am very happy.”

Mbappe missed PSG’s season-opener on August 12, but he did attend the game. A meeting at the Parc des Princes took place between him and club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and another followed with sporting director Luis Campos and manager Luis Enrique. Mbappe then returned to training with the first team as the situation appeared to be resolved.

Days later, The Athletic reported that Mbappe’s idea was to stay and renounce part of a first loyalty fee due to him, as confirmed this January by the player himself and Al-Khelaifi.

After this understanding in August, PSG felt that, sportingly and financially, the club would be covered for any outcome of the drama. They would try to renew Mbappe again, but without a ‘no’ from their star causing the drama that had been felt on previous occasions. With this agreement also disappeared the messages to the media that Mbappe could ruin his hometown club or that they were sure he had everything agreed with Real Madrid for 2024.

The truth is that Los Blancos barely made moves for Mbappe in 2023. They couldn’t make the maths work but were monitoring the situation just in case, as a result of any strained relations, there might be an opportunity at the end of August. It didn’t happen.

Winter 2024: The final chapter

The start of 2024 marked the beginning of the end. In early January this year, at Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex — where the club’s offices are also located — it was agreed that a final attempt to sign Mbappe would be made.


Florentino Perez, pictured at a Madrid game in January (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

It was also decided that Mbappe would be given a deadline to respond to this new proposal, the terms of which would be lower than the one in 2022. According to sources familiar with those previous talks, Mbappe was offered a six-season contract with a €130million signing bonus and a salary of €26m a year.

When what they were proposing reached the player’s entourage in the following days, the club made it known that his salary (the offer was for slightly more than Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham were getting) and signing fee would make him their best-paid player.

Perez was in regular contact with Mbappe during this process, something that is unusual for Madrid’s club president. Ordinarily, his right-hand man, their director general Jose Angel Sanchez, conducts negotiations. Mbappe told Perez he was keen on the move. All the while Madrid insisted, through briefings to the media, that they had no interest in the player. But the reality was quite different — as The Athletic reported on numerous occasions.

Sanchez travelled to Paris before Madrid took part in the four-club Supercopa de Espana tournament, which was played in Saudi Arabia from January 10-14. He returned full of optimism — another good sign, as he is usually cautious and very restrained.


Mbappe and Al-Khelaifi, pictured after PSG’s Coupe de France win (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources at PSG still felt it was likely that Mbappe would leave. They recalled how he had already decided last summer against taking up an option to stay for an extra year, and knew he had repeatedly expressed admiration for Madrid.

On February 13, a Tuesday, Real Madrid played away against RB Leipzig in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie. Senior club figures travelled with inside information. They had been told Mbappe would inform PSG of his decision to depart at the end of the season.

The news did not become public until the Thursday, but with the Madrid squad still in Germany, the club’s board informed head coach Ancelotti. Without being told whether or not Mbappe had actually signed a contract, the Italian was made to understand that he could count on having the striker in his squad for next season.

The final stages of negotiations were conducted in utmost secrecy. Madrid do tend to operate this way, but sources involved in the deal also said Mbappe’s mother and agent Fayza Lamari requested there be no leaks at all, in order for her son to be as protected as possible during his final months with PSG.

The end was drawing near, but the fact both PSG and Madrid were still competing in the Champions League added to the strategy of total discretion. Three days after PSG were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals, however, Mbappe made public his decision to leave.

“I need a new challenge after seven years,” he said, while thanking almost everyone at the club (most notably, Al-Khelaifi was not mentioned), but they did not know it was coming.

But the big reveal was always expected to come after the Champions League final. Madrid did not want anything, not even the biggest signing they have ever made, to distract attention from something so important and difficult to achieve.

(Top photo: Stefan Matzke – sampics/Getty Images)



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