Signing Mbappe Wouldn’t Solve Real Madrid’s True Problems









This summer was a very peculiar one for Real Madrid, as they seemed to take another page out of their galactico playbook and rehire Carlo Ancelotti as manager. They secured David Alaba on a free transfer, Gareth Bale has returned from a half-decent loan at Tottenham, but Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane have departed and there’s certain to be other players leaving in order to finance the next galactico: Kylian Mbappe. Florentine Perez has made it very clear the Los Blancos are going to sign the French superstar but with what money? And with PSG not willing to sell, it seems kind of dubious to think Mbappe will be leaving PSG for Madrid, yet Perez is making it clear he will get his next talisman. But Mbappe wouldn’t really solve the problems that are crushing Madrid currently. 

Madrid has a very old squad, something they have either failed to truly address or one they can’t seem to find a way to move on from. They have seven players over 30 in the starting XI and Carlo seems set to begin the season with Benzema, Modric, Kroos, Courtois, Hazard, Isco, Bale, and Marcelo all well into their 30s, some closer to 40 than 30. The young players in Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Eder Militao, and Valverde are pieces to a new era but they need their golden boy. That’s Mbappe. His talent is known far and wide. His value…worth a couple small tropical islands. Real Madrid, they have no money, shocking to say the least. Perhaps the biggest club in Europe, certainly one of them, Madrid haven’t struggled to attract top talent…until now. What’s changed? 


The pandemic certainly hit a number of clubs hard on the financial side, yet the way the media has been reporting this turmoil, it seems no other club has been hit harder than Madrid and Barcelona. Not to mention, they can’t find fees for players they want to sell. Players like Isco, Asensio, Bale, and even Hazard are being deemed surplus. They would all finance the Mbappe transfer. But where does that leave the rest of team? The defense needs addressing. The midfield of Modric and Kroos are aging. Karim Benzema is too old to keep up his scoring rate despite his renaissance. 


Adding Mbappe would start the new era for Madrid, but it would burn their entire transfer budget and continue to delay the inevitable overhaul Perez doesn’t want to commit to. It wouldn’t change the fact the club’s reputation is hinging on signing Mbappe, not only to recover the global perception but reduce the fallout of the failed Super League, Perez’s brain child. La Liga also knows it needs another superstar player to recoup the appeal it’s lost since Ronaldo and Messi both left for new leagues. 

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