Mbappé celebrates his move to Real Madrid in Barcelona
Kylian Mbappé seems to have been relieved of the immense pressure he was under at PSG to renew his contract year after year. Nasser al-Khelaïfi and Emmanuel Macron have been two very heavy burdens to which must be added Fayza Lamari, the player's mother, and an agent who has shown herself to be at the service of money.
In Spain, the Spanish daily Marca was the first media outlet to speak openly about a signed contract and numbers that have nothing to do with the astronomical sums the Frenchman has been paid in recent years in Paris. "It is between 15 and 20 million net per year plus bonuses for objectives during the five years of the contract," the media outlet comments. A figure that is lower than the 32 million net earned in the last two seasons. To this figure should be added another 30 million for the pro-rated signing bonus to reach 50 million net per year.
In any case, the money will put the deal in jeopardy until the day Mbappé is presented at the new Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Even once he is in white, it will be necessary to keep a close eye on Lamari's movements and the siren voices of other teams who can pay much more for his son.
Mbappé in Barcelona
Mbappé and his great friend, the Moroccan Achraf Hakimi, have decided to spend the days off granted to them by Luis Enrique at PSG by travelling to Barcelona to attend a party. There are no pictures, but they have been spotted in Barcelona, eating at the Botafumeiro restaurant and partying in the usual clubs.
Last year, Madrid was the city chosen by several PSG players, including Mbappé, Hakimi and Ramos, to spend a few days and dine in the Calle Jorge Juan. It seemed like a nod to his arrival at Real Madrid, but his contract with the Parisian club did not allow him to leave until this season, one earlier than planned in that photo with the 2025 shirt and with the doubts of how much money he will leave in his team as Real Madrid will not pay a transfer.
Barcelona look on with envy that a player of Mbappé's stature is on the loose on their streets with no one at the club able to do anything to keep him. The financial ruin of the Catalan club and the new salary scales that have become known mean that they are hardly eligible for transfers next summer. What's more, if the Frenchman joins Madrid, the Spanish league would be seriously unbalanced as no one could match the budget of a squad like the one at the club presided over by Florentino Perez. At least in the past it was Messi and Cristiano who balanced the sporting and financial scales.
Of course, there is nothing official about this historic signing. The mistakes made by Real Madrid and the Spanish media in the past mean that everything is on hold until at least one of the two teams is eliminated from the Champions League and, who knows, until PSG finish the season. The French player will have to bear the terrible pressure of his fans during these months before the end of Ligue 1 and before he is called up with France to play the European Championship in Germany.
Real Madrid now have their most loved and most hated signing. Those who disowned his arrival when he made a surprise 2022 renewal with PSG have not spoken out, although there is nothing like scoring goals to make any betrayal go away.