Kylian Mbappé will reportedly be signing with Real Madrid, and while there is likely excitement within the squad, one ESPN pundit believes that a couple of players on the team should be worried.
During a segment on ESPN FC, the panel discussed who on the current Real Madrid team could be on the way out. Gemma Soler believes it won’t be a small name leaving the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Soler identifies two players: Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. She believes this because club president Florentino Pérez typically sells a key player when a significant transfer is incoming.
“Well, of course, everybody is excited because signing one of the best players in the world right now is exciting,” Soler said on Friday’s edition of ESPN FC. “But some players are also worried because this is a big signing, a very expensive signing, and historically, what Real Madrid, what Florentino Perez has done in this kind of galactico, shiny signings, what he has done is a big sell.
“And when we talk about a big sell is a player that has a big market, so a big figure. They can sell for €70 [million] to €80 million, and it’s a player that has already, the purchase price has been recovered, so they can balance the book perfectly.
Gemma Soler: “Some players are also worried because this is a big signing.”
“So when we think about these names, and, of course, has to be in the forward line, so one of the names that appears is Rodrygo [and] Vinicius [Junior] is also on that list. So it’s not sure that they will have to make this operation to balance the books, but it’s a possibility because it’s what we have been seeing in the previous years, especially in the first era when Florentino was president.”
Mbappé could already be thinking about Real Madrid and what awaits his career after his recent behavior on Friday in the scoreless draw between Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco.
For the second game in a row, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique decided to replace Mbappé. Instead of remaining on the bench with his teammates, the player went to the stands with his mother.
The television cameras also caught the PSG star on the phone, and a journalist shared a clip of Mbappé as he took the time to greet the public and even take a selfie. Enrique’s reliance on the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Real Sociedad is uncertain.