How Real Madrid Lost Mbappé and What It Means for the Future of Football
At the time of writing, the 2022/23 football season in Europe is about to start. The continent faces a heatwave that is wreaking havoc across Spain, France, the UK, Portugal, Italy, and more, while Putin’s war in Ukraine rages on.
In what has been a packed year full of surprises (mostly unpleasant ones), there is one thing that did not quite work out the way everyone thought it would.
When the transfer season started, we all thought that Real Madrid would definitely get Kylian Mbappé to sign for the Meringues. There were reports that he visited Madrid, with some rumors saying that he may be looking for places he could settle into.
However, when the dust settled, not only did Real Madrid not have Mbappé, but they also missed out on another young and talented player, Erling Haaland, who now wears Manchester City colors. It was thought, for some time, that if Real Madrid knew they would not get Mbappé’s signature, they might have refocused their energy toward capturing Haaland.
What were the odds?
Mbappé was, for some grueling weeks, at the center of one of the most protracted transfer dramas in recent times. He was linked with the Real Madrid move long before he even went to Paris back in 2018. Things came to a head this summer when his deal with PSG expired at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
While at PSG, the speedy striker rose to beat Zlatan Ibrahimovich’s record as the club’s all-time top goal scorer by February of 2022, at the age of 23. He has won three Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France cups, and even won the World Cup with France.
Even though he has achieved a lot with PSG, he has still not had the opportunity to lift the Champions League trophy.
In a world where we manage to gamble on just about everything, from tame and colorful online casino slots to who wins next year’s Oscar for Best Actor, Mbappé leaving or not leaving PSG was an opportunity to bet on his future.
The odds were split between him leaving for his dream team (Real Madrid), staying at PSG (with a hefty financial cost), or going to Liverpool (it didn’t seem likely).
The reasoning was that, since the Meringues are Champions League royalty (they won in the 2021/22 season for the 14th time), the chances that he could get that trophy while at Madrid seemed much higher.
The shocking snub
Just when Real Madrid thought they had a successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, the news arrived that the Frenchman had been offered an incredibly lucrative deal by PSG, which he chose over his dream to play for the La Liga side.
So, what was in the contract Mbappé chose to sign?
PSG has promoted an extravagant, individualistic mentality with little-to-no consideration for structure or method. As a result, the club has been unable to achieve its biggest goal: winning the Champions League.
To break with it, PSG’s strategy appears to be to maintain a superstar with great talent at an exorbitant price and indulge in his whims.
And the price really was exorbitant. After taxes, Mbappé’s pay throughout the length of his deal will be at least $75 million. A $125 million golden handshake must be agreed to as well. PSG has lost almost $400 million as a result of the transaction when you take into account the roughly $200 million they rejected from Real Madrid last summer.
It felt to many like Mbappé, PSG, or Man City, had been playing games to drive up the price. La Liga even filed a complaint.
La Liga’s complaint
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City faced a complaint submitted by La Liga that alleged repeated violations of the financial fair play laws.
Both PSG and City have signed players who Real Madrid wanted to purchase this summer, either keeping them or bringing them in. Instead of joining Real, Kylian Mbappé chose to extend his contract with PSG, and City signed Erling Haaland.
In recent accusations to UEFA, La Liga has accused the two teams of “irregular funding.” While the complaint about City was submitted in April, the one regarding PSG was submitted after Mbappé chose to stay.
However, even with these complaints, La Liga did not level the same financial irregularities claims against Real Madrid’s $200-million bid for the Frenchman.
What is going on?
Every time the superstars’ earnings increase, they gradually but steadily raise everyone else’s as well, pushing the sport’s Overton higher.
Naturally, PSG will be able to handle that when Mbappé’s teammates show up and demand better terms, given the new normal. Even $400 million will not frighten Qatar, a sovereign nation.
When Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Vinicius Junior, or Pedri begin their upcoming round of talks by citing Mbappé as a starting point, perhaps its top counterparts in Europe will be okay, too.
However, there will be an issue down the food chain. Some teams are willing to accept the risk and further expense of keeping their best players. Others will decide to make a profit and sell on, widening the gap between the aristocracy and the rest of society.
Will football be okay?
Javier Tebas, the outspoken president of La Liga, made a weird comment following Mbappé’s choice that was almost completely made of faux outrage. His fundamental belief that adding more competitive imbalance to the competition he controls was the best way to shield everyone from it bordered on being both conniving and disingenuous.
Tebas does, however, have a point despite all of that. It is risky for clubs to artificially raise pay with no financial restraints of any kind.
Mistakes like this one have a way of self-correcting when things go too far. Will football institutions be able to rein in financial irregularities or sell their souls to the highest bidder? Only time will tell.
