Real Madrid Transfers: 5 things we learned from the Kylian Mbappe saga

Trust your gut

Before the summer 2021 transfer window began, most Real Madrid fans did not expect Kylian Mbappe to join the club. They had hope, but the vast majority of Madridistas understood that the operation would be exceedingly difficult both due to the finances and to PSG’s anticipated subborness. Few could have expected Real to be able to offer so much money, and fewer could have predicted the depths of PSG’s refusal to sell, especially after signing Lionel Messi to a mega-contract earlier in the window.

That said, Real Madrid fans started to get hope after the likes of Josep Pedrerol and Jose Felix Diaz acted as if a deal were but a formality. In Pedrerol’s case, it is a shame on us experienced fans if we took him too seriously, because El Chiringuito is an entertainment program. It is not a news outlet, though we would expect more responsibility from them if they are going to frame their words as reports.

Anyway, the number and confidence of these reports led Madridistas astray from their initial gut feeling, which is that this wouldn’t be the usual transfer chase. Even Real Madrid did not think they would sign Mbappe, even though they knew they had to try as hard as possible. Otherwise, why else did they re-hire Carlo Ancelotti instead of trying to push for a rebuild? Would Zinedine Zidane walk if he knew Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga were coming?

At the end of the day, your gut feeling counts for more than you think in transfer sagas. It might even be more reliable than the whirlwind of reports. It seemed like members of the Spanish and French press were playing games via their clubs, sending out reports that strengthened the positions of the respective clubs they covered, as opposed to delivering a nuanced truth. Though, as it turns out, the reporters in France were much closer to the mark than the ones in Spain who jumped the gun.