This summer, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will be obsessed with signing both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. With Real’s latest Karim Benzema-inspired victory over PSG in the Champions League – and the ensuing temper tantrum from PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi – Mbappe to Madrid seems like an even bigger formality.
Mbappe’s family was watching in VIP seats, and they were treated to a second-half show. Real Madrid showed the world why they are the kings of Europe. Champions League nights at the Santiago Bernabeu are special, as they have been for years. And even though this Madrid team is seen as weaker than the ones of years past, they still had plenty of magic left in them, with Benzema and Modric, in particular, putting on a show.
If Mbappe needed something to remind him of the light at the end of the tunnel or to help him rest easier after he did everything he could to help PSG vs. Madrid, then it is the solace that he has 100 percent made the right decision in choosing Madrid over the, to quote Tomas Roncero, “Petrodollars” of PSG.
Although Mbappe had the best seat in the White House as a player on the pitch, Erling Haaland had to also have been watching this match at home. Everyone was treated to a masterclass in the Remontada by Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappe has to be feeling even better about his decision
Haaland has been starved of winning at Borussia Dortmund. Aside from the DFB Pokal, this team has not been competitive at all in any of his seasons with the club. Even when it seems like they have an outside shot at the title, they manage to fumble it away. They routinely get embarrassed in big games, even when that big game is a Round of 32 tie against Rangers in the Europa League.
The Bernabeu is where magic happens. This is the pinnacle of football, where living legends play. David Alaba, Benzema, and Modric are three of the best of the generation and three of the most successful players in history in terms of winning trophies. They put on clinics in front of a hell of an atmosphere. Though even the Madridistas managed to find a soft spot for Mbappe, cheering him on before the match and at half-time.
Maybe that seems weird to you, but these fans know how much Mbappe would mean to Madrid. They want him to feel appreciated as if he is one of their own. Because if he has indeed rejected 200 million euros over two years just to join Real Madrid, then he is an even bigger Madridista than you or I.
And after this comeback from Los Merengues, he will not regret his decision. Far from it. He will relish it even more, especially because this performance was a pitch to a player who could be his trusted friend for the next five years in Haaland.
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As Haaland makes his choice, surely he has to realize that nights like this only happen at the Bernabeu. There is no atmosphere, no club that does THIS. He could make a lot of money and win trophies at Manchester City, but you cannot tell me that the “Petrodollars” of the Etihad can match Madridismo. Nothing can.