The seismic movements that the arrival of Mbappé would cause

The game enters its final stretch. The offer of 160 million euros that Real Madrid has presented to Paris Saint-Germain for Kylian Mbappé has activated an operation that, together with Messi’s landing in the French capital, is destined to alter the course of European football. The size of the proposal by a footballer who ends his contract next year and who, therefore, in January would be free to negotiate with anyone, shows Florentino Pérez’s determined will to acquire a star destined to be the undisputed benchmark of the thirteen times European champion in the next few years. No less firm is the determination of Bondy’s attacker to make a stop at the Santiago Bernabéu and thus fulfill his childhood dream.

The only thing missing is the acquiescence of PSG, which after seeing how the star rejected six renewal offers, already suspects a possible sale although, as usual in these cases, it will try to get the biggest slice possible. The French media point to the surprise among the leadership led by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi due to the caliber of the proposal that came from Chamartín, although it remains reluctant to let crack go. The newspaper ‘L’Equipe’ goes further and assures that the Qatari property could open the hand if the whites disburse 200 million.

With August 31, the market closing, as the deadline, the dialogue between Real Madrid and PSG now enters a waiting period in which it will be crucial to see which side gets nervous first. The financial muscle of the Parisians works in their favor, but Al-Khelaïfi promised in 2017 with Mbappé to listen to Real Madrid if one day siren songs came from the Spanish capital and his transfer would leave enough cash flow to undertake another incorporation of trumpery. Cristiano Ronaldo, unhappy with his situation at Juventus, could be the jewel in the crown to top off a dream trident alongside Messi and Neymar. His march to Paris would offer the perfect story to sweeten the loss of Mbappé to his fans and would be a formidable marketing coup by adding the two figures who capitalized all the awards in the last decade and a half, in addition to his heir apparent. The last word, in any case, belongs to the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, with whom Florentino Pérez has a good relationship.

Cautious optimism

For all these reasons, Real Madrid is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of seeing Mbappé dressed in white this season. Communication with his environment has been fluid since an agreement was reached in 2017 with Monaco that would have taken the young diamond to the Bernabéu for 180 million euros, the same amount that PSG ended up disbursing. Then the business went wrong due to doubts at Real Madrid about the breakdown of the ‘BBC’ and the extreme fear of not being a starter. Now there are no cracks. Mbappé wants to be the leader of a winning project, something impossible with Messi in his own dressing room, and Real Madrid has everything ready to make him their franchise player.

If his signing closes in the next few days, it will cause a series of seismic movements in the Real Madrid squad. Although his versatility allows him to function in all positions of the offensive front, Mbappé has served mainly as a center forward or as a left winger in the last two seasons. The first of these demarcations has a clear owner in Real Madrid, Benzema, with whom Mbappé maintains a great harmony that was revealed during the recent European Championship. The left-handed side of the trident would correspond, a priori, to Hazard, despite the fact that his recurring injuries and poor form have given Vinicius flight. Given that Bondy’s footballer would be the flag player, the normal thing would be for him to be located on the left wing to exploit his natural foot shot, but that would force the Brazilian and Belgian to change bands, whose qualities are not conducive to moving. .

The least disruptive option would be to settle Mbappé on the far right, a position in which he has played 58 games throughout his career. In that case, the great sacrifice would be Bale, a starter in the first two league games. Others harmed by the recruitment of the Frenchman would be Asensio and Rodrygo, who have mainly started from the right wing since they are at Real Madrid, although Carlo Ancelotti is testing the Balearic as a midfielder. In addition, the number of chips would rise to 26, which would force a player to be removed from the squad. The chosen one could be Odriozola, who has an offer from Fiorentina to leave on loan. Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez close the way to the Gipuzkoan, who has barely counted in Chamartín.