Real Madrid fans must resist any worries about Kylian Mbappe signing

Real Madrid will face one of the toughest matchups possible in the Champions League Round of 16 against PSG. The first leg will begin on Feb. 15 at the Parc des Princes, and the second leg will be on the night of March 9 at the venerable Santiago Bernabeu.

There are so many threads to this match, making it the biggest of the Round of 16 without any doubt. And Kylian Mbappe lies in the center of the storylines, given his clear desire to join Los Blancos on a free transfer after PSG did not even respond to Real’s reported 200 million euro offer for him this past summer.

Mbappe, in theory, could sign for Real in the January transfer window with six months left on his official contract. Before the Champions League re-draw, that scenario seemed possible but unlikely, given the backlash he could face from fans and the fact that it would be hard to keep such a pre-agreement quiet. Mbappe is too big of a star.

Now that Mbappe will be facing Madrid head-to-head, signing with Los Blancos before the second leg on March 9 seems just about impossible. Mbappe loves Paris and has been incredibly nice to the club, only speaking out once to defend himself and publicly state facts in an interview with RMC Sport.

Mbappe almost certainly won’t sign in January

A recent report from L’Equipe indicates that Madridistas may have to wait a while for Mbappe to put pen to paper with Real Madrid. He will not make a move until after the Round of 16, but L’Equipe also states that it is likely we will not get official word of a move until the summer.

Most importantly, however, L’Equipe affirms that the full expectation is for Mbappe to select Real Madrid. The date will just be later than what a lot of people think.

And to be honest, many of those thoughts were hopes. Mbappe was always more likely to sign and have his move announced officially later than January, even if there was optimism from Real Madrid that the deal could be closed sooner. After all, Mbappe has made it so obvious he wants Madrid that he and Thierry Henry openly joked about the move.

Madridistas have nothing to fear. It’s just that a deal of this magnitude was always going to be complicated. Mbappe is a superstar, the details of a deal will take time to hammer out, and Mbappe wants to respect his home city as much as possible.

Real Madrid is still Mbappe’s No. 1

As if that were not enough, the fact that these two teams are going against each other in the Champions League amidst a lot of tension is the biggest complication possible. Mbappe has time to wait. He would arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu at the same time, anyway, regardless of when he signs a sheet of paper saying it will happen.

Opportunistic outlets will try to sow the seeds of doubt. They will shout about some random Premier League club or try to drop hints to help PSG, making it seem like there is a chance the club’s leadership that antagonized him this summer will keep him.

Of course, anything is possible in the transfer market. But just as it is irresponsible to tell people that anything other than Mbappe to Madrid is likely, it is likewise unwise for Madridistas to worry about Mbappe. See this as nothing more than a twist in the tale, because, honestly, it is not even a delay. Mbappe’s pending arrival in Madrid is contingent upon the football calendar. With the way Los Blancos are playing right now, the sporting project – one of the most important things to the French star – looks stronger than ever. As Florentino Perez told socios, “tranquilo”.