Kylian Mbappe and PSG: After end of uneasy stint, French footballing superstar ready to fulfill his destiny of becoming a Real Madrid galactico | Football News

A loveless marriage would soon end. Kylian Mbappe would, potentially, unite with his true love, Real Madrid; Paris Saint- Germain would seek its true path to footballing glory. The Mbappe-PSG wedlock, despite the ingredients for a long and successful bond, even a symbolic bond of romance – the boy from the banlieue of Bondy, the city’s grimy alley, at the heart of PSG renaissance – was always forced and inorganic. That it did not end bitterly — even if it threatened to, at times — is a mini-wonder in itself.
For Mbappe, it was always Real Madrid – the love of his life. The group that fired up his imagination were always the galacticos. In his comic-strip autobiography Je M’Appelle Kylian, Zinedine Zidane and Criano Ronaldo visit him in a dream, and Zidane hands him out a sparkling-white kit of Real Madrid. He plays keepie-uppie with them. In school, when a teacher asks him about his best friends, he ls out the names Ronaldo, Zidane and Sergio Ramos. Later, in interviews, when probed on who he wants to be, it was always Ronaldo and Zidane. “If you’re French, obviously you would have grown up with [Zinedine] Zidane as your idol. After that, it was Criano [Ronaldo],” he would say.
But between Mbappe and his dream came PSG. The money they offered was irresible; the vision they sold was seductive. He could be more than a galactico; he could embody the club itself, give it an identity and character; even pedigree and culture. He could be the Parisian Cruyff. His acquisition was a symbol of power and ambition for PSG. It was a statement buy — he was both the galactic and Cruyff. In the player-unveiling ceremony, Mbappe spoke glowingly about his love for Paris and his drive to guide PSG into exalted football company, a seat beside Real Madrid and Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. He was the greatest French star to play in France since Michel Platini. Zinedine Zidane was not yet a superstar when he packed his bags to Juventus. He could be as big as both; perhaps bigger.
A Parisian Saga was being typed away. Mbappe scored goals, a lot of goals. In 291 games, he netted 244 goals. All types of goals – tap-ins, long-ranges, curlers, benders, and fizzers. He created hundreds more. He hoarded trophies — five league titles and eight other less glittering medals; a Champions League runner-up medal. He was a commercial blockbuster — jersey sales shot through the roof, doubling almost every year; with his talent and aura he drove masses to the stadium. He won love and adulation.
Soccer Football – Champions League – Round of 16 First Leg – Paris St Germain v Real Madrid – Parc des Princes, Paris, France – February 15, 2022 Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe scores their first goal. (REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier)
Made for each other
But his heart still longed for Madrid. He was on the edge of separation several times. PSG, though, were adamant on keeping him, bestowing him immense player-power in the dressing room, raising his wages manifold, inserting incredible release clauses, and trying every way to pin him to Paris. He could decide the players, he could design the tactics. He had outgrown the club. They could not buy his love, his heart.
It was always with Madrid. The marriage has, officially, not been solemnised. Every year, rumours would swirl around, before pen could be put to paper. But this time, it looks closer than ever before. From a footballing perspective, Mbappe is made for Madrid than Paris, the grandest talent in the world on the grandest stage. He would land in Madrid at a time when the storied Spanish Club is searching for a face. In no club is an individual deified as much as he is in Madrid. And the club has always acquired the global stars, from Alfredo di Stefano to Zinedine Zidane and Criano Ronaldo, sniffing out most from the noses of some of the other European powerhouses.
Now, though, Ronaldo has gone. So has Gareth Bale. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have aged. They have acquired Jude Bellingham, arguably the most talented and versatile midfielder around, they possess the Brazilian pin-up boy Vinicius Junior. All they now need is Mbappe to usher in the neo-galactico era.
All perhaps PSG need is the Mbappe divorce too. After the star-declutter last season, PSG has become a coherent, vibrant side under Spanish manager Luis Enrique. They are without egos and clashes, without baggage and pressure, without ridicule and parody – a team now, rather than an accumulation of disjointed stars. Although Mbappe was still central to their fortunes, there are other budding stars too, like 17-year-old homegrown midfielder Warren-Zaire Emery, forward Kolo Mulani and Mbappe’s own brother Ethan.

Enrique, last week, would emphasise on the “club being bigger than individual.” But Paris was always a stage too small for Mbappe’s talents. Madrid is his grand theatre. And the divorce would leave both liberated.