Kylian Mbappe’s unveiling at Real Madrid brings new pressure after Euros: ‘My life aim was to play for Real’

With UEFA Euro 2024 now over and Spain crowned champions, Kylian Mbappe has been able to complete his move to Real Madrid and the Spanish giants unveiled the France international captain at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday to great fanfare. The 25-year-old has not enjoyed the success that he was hoping for in 2024 so far but he has now completed one major career objective in moving to La Liga: fulfilling his youthful fantasy of signing for Los Blancos like his hero Cristiano Ronaldo.

“This was a childhood dream of mine,” said Mbappe at his lavish unveiling in the Spanish capital on Tuesday just over two weeks since his Paris Saint-Germain contract officially ended. “There it is — I am now a Real Madrid player. It is of great satisfaction for me and my family. I knew that my life aim was to play for Real. I have had that vision since I was a child. I am humbled because today I am joining the biggest club in the world.

“My objectives are to respect this club’s values,” added the French superstar of his hopes now that he has made the long-mooted transfer to the European champions. “My priority is to integrate myself into this team and I hope that this goes well. I was convinced that this moment would arrive. Real was the only solution for me. I received other offers from other clubs but I always said the same thing: if I was to leave Paris then it would only be for Real Madrid.”

Mbappe might be celebrating the completion of his coveted Real move but there has been little to cheer about otherwise so far in 2024. The former AS Monaco man left PSG under cloud having failed to lead Les Parisiens to UEFA Champions League success and that semifinal defeat was followed up by another final four setback with France at the Euro with eventual winners Spain knocking Didier Deschamps’ men out. Mbappe’s hope for a double dose of international action this summer has already been dashed with Real blocking him from featuring at the Olympics, so where does that leave his Ballon d’Or chances?

Sign for Real: Success

Mbappe’s career is back on track now that he has joined Real with the on-off saga of him potentially leaving PSG for La Liga’s titleholders now consigned to the past. The man from Bondy opted out of his final year of contract at Parc des Princes and was supposed to be entering his final year now but those plans were brought forward and Mbappe has secured his dream move and added himself to the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga in Carlo Ancelotti’s star studded squad. That said, he joins at a time when Real are defending Spanish and European kings which means that anything less this coming season will be deemed disappointing.

Champions League: Failure

On the field, though, it has been a totally different story for Mbappe. PSG might have won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France but they fell short in the UCL when well-positioned in the semifinals and not having the chance to win the title with Les Parisiens — against Real — was a missed opportunity for him. Three final four appearances and one final defeat with PSG was not a bad record for Mbappe but his role in a meek semifinal exit to Borussia Dortmund was impossible to ignore and did little to prepare him for the Euro.

Euro 2024: Failure

Another which must now be considered another failure given France’s run to the semis despite playing poorly with Mbappe only scoring once from a penalty and also suffering a broken nose in the opening game. Although that physical issue did hamper his ability to perform in Germany, it cannot excuse a poor tournament overall from an individual and collective standpoint and questions are starting to be asked in France now of where the Mbappe from the 2022 World Cup final has gone. There will, of course, be another shot at World Cup glory in 2026 but his Euro record is poor and will now stand until 2028 along with questions over his leadership.

Olympics: Failure

There will not even be an Olympic gold medal to make up for it with Thierry Henry doing without many star names after Mbappe and others were blocked from representing the host nation in the capital. After initially eyeing potential UCL, Euro and Olympic success, Mbappe is suddenly facing up to reality without any of the three and only his successful move to Real to spin 2024 in any sort of positive light when just a few months ago it appeared as if he was primed to win it all.

Ballon d’Or: Failing

The assumption must be that Mbappe will not be winning this year’s Ballon d’Or award which would almost certainly have been his had PSG won the Champions League, had France been better and gone further in Germany and had he managed to bring home a gold medal for the French. Instead, the chances are high that he will see someone else — possibly Rodri — picking up the prize which makes the first few months at Santiabo Bernabeu now crucial.

Pressure: Mounting

Mbappe arrives in Madrid with a superstar reputation and major numbers from his time with PSG but without certain titles to his name. A UCL crown is missing although he is arguably in the right place for that as well as his first Ballon d’Or and the wait for a Euro will go on for at least four more years. He does have a World Cup title over most of his competitors but that is now six years in the past and a decline in form has already been noted across 2023-24. First and foremost, Mbappe needs to get back into top form and fitness before targeting success with Los Blancos. A slow start could make things very tricky for the Frenchman moving forward as the pressure only grows at Real and the bar, in terms of expectations, has been set extremely high.