MADRID.- A new white victory, after seven years of history, arrived in the Madrid summer of 2024. Kyliam Mbappé, that child who once stepped onto Madrid’s training grounds with Zinedine Zidane, and who in 2017 began his love-hate relationship with the bank club, today finally puts on the white shirt with the number ‘9’.
A day after a completely red evening, with Álvaro Morata –an old Real Madrid fan– as the guide of the dance, where they celebrated perhaps the most important milestone in Spanish football in recent years, the city of Madrid was dressed in white once again in a glorious year for Real Madrid fans.
On the streets, from before 9:00 in the morning (Madrid time) and before Mbappé himself, many Real Madrid fans were already wearing that number printed on their white shirts. They were waiting to enter the stadium at 10:30, after long queues that seemed short if they thought about seeing the man who should be the new great idol of Real Madrid.
Little by little, the “Real Madrid” lettering on the seats at the La Castellana stadium was obscured by the fans who were entering. Horns, shouts, jumping and euphoria erupted every time the screens showed the French star, first undergoing his medical and then in the back seat of the car taking him to his new home.
He went through his new dressing room, saw the 15 European Cups, signed his contract with Florentino and posed with his new shirt. All in front of the gaze of the fans who, by 11:30, had already filled a good part of the stadium.
At 12:47, Kylian Mbappé, now dressed entirely in white, with the number that will accompany him from the start, stepped onto the Santiago Bernabéu pitch. Florentino Pérez, the club president, gave the go-ahead for the new player to greet his new fans. There are no longer any feelings of deception, betrayal or anger among those present. On the contrary, everyone chants “Mbappé, Mbappé” visibly moved.
The long-awaited “kiss the badge” came from every throat minutes after the French star had been given the floor. The gesture was reciprocated and the stadium erupted in a single shout. “It’s incredible to be here. My dream has come true. I’m a happy boy today,” was the first thing the French player shared, in perfect Spanish. “Thanks to Florentino Pérez. He believed in me from the first day. Many things happened, but in the end I’m here,” he continued.
As if that wasn’t enough, Mbappé reconnected with the fans. “My only dream since I was a child was to play here. Thank you to the fans who have given me so much love. That goes straight to my heart.” The reaction was a huge roar. “My other dream is to be at the level of this club. The best in the world. I will give my life for this club and this badge.”
The long wait, never better said after seven years of failed attempts, is over for Real Madrid fans. Kylian Mbappé is now a Real Madrid player.