Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is going to back Kylian Mbappe no matter what. Madridistas have known that this would be the case from the moment a smiling Presi unveiled a player he has pursued with more vigor than any other in his history - even Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and David Beckham before him.
Mbappe was supposed to be the crowning jewel of the new era of Real Madrid with a revamped Santiago Bernabeu, a commercial counterweight to the growing financial and global dominance of the Premier League Big Six after the rejection of the European Super League. But instead of being a statement of Real's superiority after they had already won the Champions League (and La Liga) prior to his arrival, Mbappe has been Real's undoing.
And though injuries have bounced him out of the lineup lately, otherwise, there is no benching Mbappe. Even PSG gave Luis Enrique the latitude to banish Mbappe from the starting lineup when he would not listen to the very basic instructions imparted by the former Barcelona treble winner, but at Real Madrid, Mbappe is above the manager and everyone else, with a blank slate from Perez to do as he pleases.
The blind faith Real Madrid have placed in Kylian Mbappe looks quite tragic when looking back at how much better PSG are since 2023/24 without him, whereas Real Madrid have become the new PSG. And PSG itself has multiple players whom Real Madrid could have brought in Mbappe's stead, including a certain winger who idolized Real as a youngster in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
But there is another player Real Madrid could have signed all the way back in 2022 when they had won their first Champions League title of the new, post Cristiano Ronaldo era. But instead of signing Erling Haaland for an affordable rate, they watched Manchester City steal the Champions League from them in 2022/23 with Haaland as their record breaking star in front of goal. And Haaland would have been a tailor made replacement for Karim Benzema, whose decline was that very year.
Haaland would have been the stabilzing striker presence up top, a maven in counterattacks, a reference point for the others, and someone who would not have shifted the wingers to play for someone else. And as Manchester City are finding in this tight title race and comeback against Arsenal, Haaland will put in so much hard work that does not get respected in order to will his team to tough wins, scrapping with the tough center backs like Gabriel Magalhaes.
Real Madrid have never seen that from Mbappe. And so as they watch players like Ousmane Dembele, Kvaradona, and Haaland put in the work and be team first players suiting the modern game of football, Florentino Perez's infatuation with Mbappe becomes all the more disturbing - and angering.
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