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Kylian Mbappe’s inevitable transfer to Real Madrid is done.

A pursuit that dates back at least seven years – when the French superstar talked to Real Madrid before joining Paris Saint-Germain in a €180-million move – concluded Monday with Mbappe agreeing to sign for the Spanish and European champions on a free transfer.

Mbappe’s five-year contract with Los Blancos begins once his PSG deal expires June 30. The 25-year-old reportedly agreed to personal terms with Madrid in February.

“A dream come true, so happy and proud to join the club of my dreams, Real Madrid,” Mbappe wrote on X alongside pictures of him when he was younger wearing the team jacket and meeting club icon Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Nobody can understand how excited I am right now.”

(Courtesy: @KMbappe)

Last summer, Mbappe declined an option to extend his PSG contract until June 2025. The attacker was subsequently dropped from a preseason tour to Japan and temporarily trained away from the first-team squad. He was reintroduced to the matchday roster after missing just one league match, and relations between the club and player seemed to improve during the opening months of the 2023-24 campaign.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated last July that it’d be “impossible” for Mbappe – arguably the best player in the world – to leave on a free transfer. Later that month, the club reportedly accepted a world-record €300-million offer from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal for the forward. However, Mbappe didn’t entertain the opportunity, and no other transfers materialized before news of his decision to depart the Parc des Princes for nothing surfaced in February.

French superstar

Mbappe scored 256 goals and assisted 95 times over 308 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain and hoarded medals in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the now-defunct Coupe de la Ligue, and the Trophee des Champions. He finished as the top scorer in Ligue 1 six times. The 2023-24 season marked the fifth time in a row that he was named the best player in France’s top flight.

He started his career with Monaco, where he won one Ligue 1 title and helped fire the principality club to the 2016-17 Champions League semifinals, beating Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund along the way.

Mbappe’s club achievements

Mbappe has 46 goals in 77 appearances for France and succeeded Hugo Lloris as captain in March 2023. He scored four times during Les Bleus’ victorious 2018 World Cup run, including once in the final against Croatia. Mbappe finished the 2022 World Cup as top scorer with eight goals, with three of those strikes crammed into a remarkable final as France fell to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in a penalty shootout.

Now, after representing his country at Euro 2024, Mbappe will spend most weekends bewitching crowds in Spain.

“It’s hard, and I never thought it would be this difficult to announce that, to leave my country, France, Ligue 1, a championship I’ve always known, but I think I needed this, after seven years, a new challenge,” Mbappe said when he confirmed he’d leave PSG on May 10.

The new challenge

The next step in Mbappe’s career comes with one clear objective: winning the Champions League. It was PSG’s No. 1 aim throughout his time in the French capital, but the closest they got was a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.

Mbappe didn’t carry the burden of trying to conquer Europe alone. His teammates at PSG included true greats of the game, including Messi, Angel Di Maria, Neymar, and Sergio Ramos. Still, PSG’s lavish spending couldn’t deliver European football’s top prize.

Not only will Mbappe share a dressing room with more huge names at the Bernabeu – he’ll form an intimidating attack with Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Endrick – he also joins a club that makes winning the Champions League a habit. Real Madrid overcame RB Leipzig, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich in this season’s Champions League knockout rounds before beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Saturday’s final for their record-extending 15th success in the competition.

In addition to their continental exploits, Real Madrid are the most successful team in Spanish football history with 36 La Liga titles. They clinched the 2023-24 crown with four matches to spare during the first weekend of May.

Mbappe added on Instagram: “Can’t wait to see you, Madridistas, and thanks for your unbelievable support.”