“The White House” (one of Real Madrid’s nicknames) isn’t used to being told no. In the minds of the leaders, in the hearts of the supporters and on the front pages of the AS and Marca newspapers at the start of the week, the case was heard. Kylian Mbappé had said yes to Real. The meaning of history. That of a club which built its legend on the stars of Alfredo Di Stefano to Cristiano Ronaldo via Zinedine Zidane, that of the prodigy of Bondy whose Real was the childhood dream.
Even dreaded since Friday, the turnaround of the player – now under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2025 – is perceived as an offense to an institution, this club with thirteen victories in the Champions League. “Being in Madrid is a privilege not everyone can have,” midfielder Federico Valverde posted on Instagram.
The message is pretty self-explanatory. In the wake of the announcement of Mbappé’s extension, other Real players such as Brazilians Rodrygo and Vinicius posted messages on their social networks to reaffirm their pride in wearing the famous white jersey. Anything but a coincidence.
The club has still not officially reacted to what looks like a snub. No doubt he lets the local sports press – reputed to be close to him – carry the sword. This Sunday, Marca posted a title without nuance to accompany the photo of the player posing with his “Mbappé 2025” t-shirt. It reads “hace falta mucha clase para jugar el Madrid”. Translation: Mbappé would lack “a lot of class” “to play in Madrid”.
In the columns of the newspaper, the tone is as biting as resentful. “If Mbappé’s goals were shown to satiety, it was because he was called upon to become a future Real player. Next year, without this media magnifying glass, it will be difficult to have a minimum of this follow-up for its matches against Troyes, Angers or Lorient ”, writes the editorialist Ruben Jimenez. At rival AS, the tone is even more vindictive: “From now on, you will always be a loser. »
Javier Tebas gets loose
If the leaders of Real – starting with President Florentino Perez – seem for the moment not to want to insult the future with noisy declarations, the supporters have the more resentful and definitive disappointment. “Real Madrid have won 13 Champions Leagues without Mbappé. He was never with us and we will not miss him, “said Luis Caceres, president of the federation of Real supporters’ associations, at the microphone of Cadena Cope.
Javier Tebas is neither a columnist nor a supporter, but the volcanic president of La Liga does not hesitate to speak of an “INSULT in football”. The man – who has never hidden his contempt for the “new rich” like PSG or Manchester City – let loose on his Twitter account on Saturday evening.
“What PSG are doing to prolong Mbappé with big money… after posting €700m losses in recent seasons and having a €600m wage bill euros is an INSULT to football. »
In the wake of this vitriolic message, the body that manages professional football in Spain issued a press release in which it affirms its willingness to file a “complaint” against PSG with UEFA and the competent authorities in France and in the European Union.
“La Liga wishes to demonstrate that this type of agreement undermines the economic sustainability of European football, endangering in the medium term hundreds of thousands of jobs and the sporting integrity, not only of European competitions, but also of our national championships “, says the Spanish body in its press release.
Already preceded by Manchester City in the file of the Norwegian from Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland, “the White House” thought to hold its future gondola head with a Mbappé, ready to sign last summer. This failure would almost make you forget that the club must play a Champions League final next Saturday against Liverpool. As luck would have it, the match took place at the Stade de France, in Seine-Saint-Denis … The department of a certain Kylian Mbappé.
