Real Madrid fans are ready to rejoice the signing of Kylian Mbappe, which should become an official reality upon the conclusion of the 2021/22 season. Until then, Madridistas will not rest easy, but it truly does seem as if Mbappe will be coming to the Santiago Bernabeu.
And yet, the mood around Madrid is somber. That’s because fans are not complacent. They are smart. They understand a 0-4 loss to Barcelona is not only unacceptable, but it is also the culmination of a multitude of mistakes by Carlo Ancelotti that have either been papered over by the team’s wonderful talents – or simply forgotten by a series of scattered positive results.
Madridistas want changes. Real changes. They want more midfield help, a REAL right back, and squad depth that mirrors what buoyed the team’s superstars during the fabled three-peat era. And most of all, they want a new manager.
Yet for every “want” and hopeful report, there are other reports saying Real Madrid will not sign a right back. There are reports affirming some sort of trust in Carlo Ancelotti. And fans are concerned that Florentino Perez will be complacent, having only signed David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga in the last two summer transfer windows while losing Martin Odegaard, Raphael Varane, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Reguilon, Sergio Ramos, and a few others.
Real Madrid must follow their responsibility to Kylian Mbappe for joining
I will say this. The Kylian Mbappe transfer cannot be the only move Real Madrid make. And quietly, I have confidence – though I can obviously make no such guarantees – that he will not be the only move Florentino makes.
Think of the reasons why Mbappe wanted to join Madrid. And think beyond the childhood dream of being the Bernabeu’s savior. He believed, as was likely affirmed in the Champions League, that Real can offer him a better sporting project to improve his individual stock and win trophies.
For that to be fulfilled, Real Madrid must follow through. Perez must back the contract given to Mbappe and Mbappe’s faith in Madrid’s project by providing the world’s best player with the sporting cast that can help him win everything he is capable of. Cristiano Ronaldo had Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, and Keylor Navas by his side. All of those players were either THE best or among the three best at their respective positions.
How many of the current Real Madrid players can we say that about? A handful, certainly. More than that? I am not so sure. And the depth, the consistency, is lacking in comparison to what we saw during the three-peat era.
Not every team can be as dominant as that Real Madrid side was. Obviously. But with more money tied up in the state-owned clubs and the game skewing more to the Premier League, that just means Los Blancos must work that much harder to get back on top – and stay on top.
And if you sign Mbappe – if you have the privilege of getting such a Galactic player on your side – then you must surely aspire to be on top. Not just for one year. Not just for two years. But for the better part of a decade.
Perez understands as well as anyone that you have to invest wisely. You have to work hard with your scouting. You have to make the deals on the market. You have to go out there and win the transfer market, steadily building a championship team with proactivity.
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Mbappe will make sure Real Madrid do just that. Because if Real fall short on their responsibility, they will have wasted a golden opportunity. If Perez’s past is to go anything off of, he has learned not to waste a single moment to excel and to build a powerhouse around generational attacking talents. Because yes, Real will have plural generational attacking talents in Vinicius Jr., Mbappe, and Benzema, whose twilight deserves one last triumph.