THE 206 KYLIAN DOLLAR MAN After months of global speculation, PSG star's move to Los Blancos is finally official 2024-06-05    

Kylian Mbappe is finally a Real Madrid player.

Madrid said on Monday it had reached a deal with the France star for the next five seasons, bringing together one of European soccer's top talents and its most successful club.

Madrid did not release any financial details. It also didn't immediately say when it will officially introduce Mbappe, who is with France preparing for the upcoming European Championship in Germany.

However, Sky Sports and UK newspaper The Sun reported that Mbappe is set to earn around 12 million pounds ($15.4 million) a year — believed to be a significant pay cut from his PSG deal. That said, he will also receive a massive signing-on bonus of 160.5 million pounds ($206 million), which will be paid in installments over the duration of his five-year contract.

The announcement came after years of flirtation between Madrid and the player.

"A dream come true," Mbappe said on X. "So happy and proud to join the club of my dreams. Nobody can understand how excited I am right now. Can't wait to see you, Madridistas (Madrid fans), and thanks for your unbelievable support. Hala Madrid!"

The post was accompanied by photos of a young Mbappe wearing a Madrid jacket while visiting the club, one of which shows the future French star with Madrid great Cristiano Ronaldo.

A video of Mbappe highlights posted online reportedly crashed the Madrid website.

The 25-year-old World Cup winner joins a Madrid team that is already loaded with talent and still celebrating its latest European triumph — its sixth in 10 seasons.

Just two days ago, Madrid won a record-extending 15th European Cup title when it beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League final in London.

It's also a team that already features young stars in Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.

Mbappe's signing could revive Madrid's "Galactico" status, when its squads boasted the world's top players including Zinedine Zidane, Brazil's Ronaldo, David Beckham, Gareth Bale, Luis Figo and Karim Benzema, among others.

The current Madrid players were quick to welcome their newest teammate.

"Welcome to the best club in the world," forward Brahim Diaz said.

"I don't know if we won the Champion Leagues on Saturday, or if we won it today with Mbappe's signing," former Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas said.

Until now, Mbappe has only played club soccer in France — first at Monaco, and for the past seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, which he left as a free agent after it failed to persuade him to renew his contract. Mbappe didn't take the option for an extra year on the deal he signed two years ago.

Monaco wished Mbappe success, while the Spanish league reported that "a new star in the universe of Real Madrid" had appeared.

In 2021, Madrid was rejected after offering PSG a bid of 180 million euros ($196 million), the same amount PSG paid Monaco for a teenage Mbappe years earlier.

Madrid president Florentino Perez made signing Mbappe a strategic club priority, since the powerhouse failed to lock Mbappe down when he visited the club's facilities at age 14.

Mbappe, instead, opted to join Monaco's youth academy, and became a teenage sensation when he helped lead the Principality club to the Champions League semifinals in 2017.

The Qatar-backed PSG turned down Madrid's 2021 bid, but with Mbappe's contract expiring the following year, Madrid took it for granted that Mbappe, who had never hid his desire to one day play for the Spanish club, would come south of the Pyrenees in 2022.

But, French President Emmanuel Macron encouraged him to stay, and Mbappe stunned Perez and most of the soccer world by signing a contract extension to "continue his adventure" in Paris.

Madrid won the 2022 Champions League after beating Mbappe's PSG in the knockout rounds.

Perez said that, after Mbappe turned down his club, perhaps it was for the best, now that Madrid is getting a once-in-a-generation player as a free agent.

Mbappe should blend well into a team that also features French players Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy. He also studied Spanish while he was with Monaco and speaks it well.

Mbappe's resume includes winning the World Cup at 19, a World Cup final hat-trick at 23, seven French league titles and four French Cups.

Mbappe is also the current captain of the French national side. When it won the World Cup in 2018, he was only the second teenager after the great Pele to score in a World Cup final. Four years later, he became only the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

Mbappe, though, was unable to lead PSG to a Champions League crown, losing the only final he played in to Bayern Munich in 2020. He also failed to score in the semifinal against Dortmund this season.

Mbappe left PSG as its all-time leading scorer with 256 goals, including a club record 175 in the French league. His highest scoring season with PSG was 44, and, this year, he was the league's top scorer for the sixth consecutive season.