Kylian Mbappe of France joins La Liga's Real Madrid, June 3, 2024. /CFP
Real Madrid of Spain's La Liga announced on Monday that they have signed French superstar Kylian Mbappe on a five-year contract.
"Real Madrid C. F. and Kylian Mbappe have reached an agreement whereby he will be a Real Madrid player for the next five seasons," the Spanish heavyweights said in a statement.
"A dream come true, So happy and proud to join the club of my dream," Mbappe posted on X. "Nobody can understand how excited I am right now. Can't wait to see you, Madridistas, and thanks for your unbelievable support. ¡Hala Madrid!"
According to ESPN, Mbappe's salary will be 15 million euros (about $16.4 million) per year after taxes plus a 150m euro signing-on bonus to be paid over five years. It isn't high relative to the salary he earned at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as well as the offer made to him by Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal last year, but that's what the 25-year-old's willing to take to play at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and have the chance to win more trophies.
Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after winning the Coupe de France title at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France, May 25, 2024. /CFP
Mbappe played 308 games, scored 256 goals and delivered 108 assists for PSG before he parted ways with the club. He helped them win six Ligue 1 championships, four Coupe de France titles and three Trophee des Champions trophies among other honors. As a key member of the French national team, Mbappe won the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 and made the final in Qatar in 2022. Though they lost out to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out, Mbappe scored a hat trick in the game.
One major honors Mbappe is missing is the UEFA Champions League title. He had a chance to win it with PSG in 2020, but they lost to Bayern Munich in the final
By contrast, Real just won their 15th European Cup title in club history and their sixth in the past 10 years.