Kylian Mbappe – CaughtOffside

Inside Spain: Euro 2024 celebrations get out of hand, Kylian Mbappe arrives and Leny Yoro snub

Ruairidh Barlow — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:50:28 +0000

Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

It’s been a big week at Real Madrid, which is saying something, given it should have been all about Spain’s Euro 2024 celebrations. Celebrations that weren’t all smooth.

Manchester City’s Rodri Hernandez has caused a minor diplomatic incident after his ‘Gibraltar is Spanish chant’, with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo comparing it to the sort of stunt Dictator Francisco Franco would pull. Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino were branded ‘traitors’ by someone in their hometowns with particularly strong Basque feeling, and Dani Carvajal went viral for giving Spanish President Pedro Sanchez the cold shoulder. Perhaps the most wild was seeing Alvaro Morata launch a cup at a fan from their open-top bus due to a sign they were holding.

#FCBarcelona have released their kit for their 125th anniversary, with a video paying homage to their roots and history. pic.twitter.com/DJdX7WCqey

— Football España (@footballespana_) July 18, 2024

Apartt from that, it was mostly wholesome, with Marc Cucurella, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams providing the good vibes. It has not calmed speculation around Williams though. This week Barcelona met with his agent to finalise personal terms, but Athletic Club coach Ernesto Valverde declared he was expecting him back in training on the 12th of August. Arsenal and Chelsea probably won’t drop out of the race until they know Barcelona have the money to do a deal. Barcelona also launched their new kit with a brilliant announcement video.

All that before even getting to Kylian Mbappe’s presentation. The Frenchman packed out the Santiago Bernabeu, with a rumoured 80,000 there to see him ‘accomplish his childhood dream’. A big Real Madrid love-in, one-year extensions for Lucas Vazquez and Luka Modric almost faded into the background.

Marca have released a video detailing the 11 host stadiums for the #2030WorldCup in Spain.

Mestalla, the Benito Villamarin and the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan all miss out. pic.twitter.com/LZyjaoEyAR

— Football España (@footballespana_) July 18, 2024

It did leave Real Madrid stunned when Leny Yoro called them to say that he would be joining Manchester United. The local press say that Lille threatened to send him to the stands if Yoro did not accept Manchester United’s offer, although with phrases like ‘Real Madrid overestimated his determination to play for them’, it read a little like saving face.

All the same, Real Madrid do not have a plan B. They let Rafa Marin join Napoli earlier this month, they were that certain of getting Yoro over the line, but now face either a scrambled effort for another defender, or using Aurelien Tchouameni there as an emergency option.

After scoring the winning goal for Spain in #Euro2024, and celebrating in front of tens of thousands, Mikel Oyarzabal returned to his native Eibar.

Back to see his family and friends, he was back at his usual barber. When he came out, he saw this????pic.twitter.com/2NUPlCFjGh

— Football España (@footballespana_) July 18, 2024

Finally, the 11 Spanish venues were confirmed for the 2030 World Cup, with no Mestalla in Valencia, or Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan or Benito Villamarin in Seville. Sevilla will have La Cartuja at least, but reportedly politics got in the way of Spain’s third-most populous city missing out entirely…

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Fantastic move for Mbappe, Barça in a rush for Nico and more…

Fabrizio Romano — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 18:00:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service here: thedailybriefing.io

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Fantastic move for Mbappe but no updates on Trent to Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe is unveiled by Real Madrid

It’s a fantastic move for Real Madrid and for Mbappe. Real Madrid already had everything of course, but Mbappe can be very helpful in terms of goals to add as next season will be full of games, new Champions League format, Clubs World Cup…

Mbappe is a fantastic addition, and for him it’s a great move as Real Madrid is a fantastic club.

Sticking with Los Blancos, there’s no update on Trent Alexander-Arnold at the moment. I shared in March that Real Madrid are monitoring the situation and this remains the case, nothing fresh or new so far.

Real Madrid are just attentive to many situations of good players with short contracts, Alexander-Arnold is one of them.

West Ham must pay £40m for Jhon Dura

The situation remains open for Jhon Duran, who could still leave this summer.

Aston Villa always wanted £40m, they rejected different approaches from Chelsea in June and from West Ham in the recent weeks.

Their request remains clear, at least £40m or the player is not leaving. Let’s see what West Ham decide to do now.

The Hammers have also been linked with Alexander Sorloth but I don’t have concrete updates on that situation.

I can say that Villarreal, when Roma asked for Sorloth recently, always replied: release clause or nothing.

€38m, this is the value of the clause and what Villarreal want for Sorloth.

Barca want quick resolution to Nico Williams deal

Barcelona really want to be fast on the Nico Williams deal. They know that Premier League clubs could return for the Spanish winger after the fantastic Euros campaign that he had with Spain.

They know about Chelsea’s interest and they know about Arsenal’s interest, but Barça want to be faster on the player side. This will be the mission for this week.

They will not bid for other players because the full focus of their budget is on Nico Williams. The confidence of the Barça board, Barça manager Hansi Flick and all the people at the club is growing.

Barcelona will make a contract proposal to Nico Williams. They know this is crucial to agree on the salary and all the details of the deal need to have the green light from the player. This is the crucial step.

Barça want to make it happen and then get the green light from La Liga for Financial Fair Play.

They already had more contacts with the agents of the player, and will push in the next days as they want to agree this week on personal terms, the structure of the salary and the bonuses into the salary.

Osimhen move will see Lukaku head to Napoli

Victor Osimhen in action.

There is still interest, a lot of interest in Victor Osimhen, because the agreement between Napoli and the player is for him to leave the club in the summer transfer window.

We know about the interest of Chelsea but we always said that the only way for Chelsea to go for Victor Osimhen is in case the package is reduced; meaning salary, meaning commission, meaning also transparency as Chelsea will not pay €120m.

The agent of Victor Osimhen is in contact with Paris Saint-Germain and he’s been a target of theirs for a long time.

But it will only be a concrete possibility if PSG manage to sell a striker in the summer transfer window, either Gonçalo Ramos or Randal Kolo Muani.

Saudi was already a really concrete possibility but it didn’t happen before because Napoli said no. This summer it’s different, and so Saudi could still be a solution for Victor Osimhen.

An important point to note is that in case Osimhen agrees to move in the summer window, the top target for Napoli remains Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku has always been excited about the possibility of being reunited with Antonio Conte, his favourite manager by far, and Napoli want the same.

Mathys Tel is going nowhere this summer

I keep receiving many questions from Chelsea fans on Mathys Tel, the striker from Bayern Munich.

We know Chelsea are looking for a player in that position and will look to acquire one based on the opportunity that will arise.

The name of Mathys Tel is always in Chelsea fans questions, and what I’m told is that both Bayern and the player, together with their agents, have no intention of parting ways this summer.

Despite many clubs being interested in Mathys Tel, one of the most talented strikers around, he recently extended his contact at Bayern, and his idea is to stay at Bayern.

He can’t wait to work under Vincent Kompany and this is the clear message.

Morata set for Milan medical

Spain’s Alvaro Morata celebrates with the European Championship trophy

There has been a lot of movement for Álvaro Morata, with the captain of Spanish national team set to join AC Milan.

The Italian club have triggered the release clause of €13m to sign the player from Atlético Madrid, and a medical will be done in the next 24 hours.

Then Morata will sign on a four-year contract. All set to be completed.

Monaco furious with Mikautadze as Lyon hijack deal

Georges Mikautadze, the striker from the Georgian National Team, was set to become a new Monaco player. The deal was done and the medical test was scheduled.

Everything was in place, but Olympique Lyon have been able to hijack the deal on the player side.

Monaco were furious with the player and his agents, but he’s going to Olympique Lyon for €18m.

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Maguire can leave Man United… if he wants to

The situation is quiet regarding Harry Maguire now, no changes.

Maguire remains happy at Man United, and they’re not desperate to sell him. If a good proposal arrives, he could leave in case he wants to.

Otherwise, they’d continue together as happened this season. Nothing is concrete now in terms of talks or negotiations.

Juve priority is Koopmeiners but Adeyemi appreciated

Juventus interest in Karim Adeyemi is there since June, I reported about that in June because Juventus like the player but at the moment there are no negotiations ongoing.

For Juventus, the priority remains to sign Koopmeiners as soon as they sell Soulé.

Aubameyang off to Saudi

There’s also been movement in recent hours for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He’s set to leave European football and Olympique Marseille to become a new player at the Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah, the same club that former Real Madrid player, Nacho, has joined.

The agreement between Aubameyang and Al Qadsiah is done on a two year contract, he has the green light to go there, and now we wait for the clubs to agree.

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Exclusive: Valid reason why Man United remain ahead of Real Madrid in Leny Yoro chase

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 07:26:17 +0000

Manchester United have started talks to convince 18-year-old French defender, Leny Yoro, to join the club, and there’s a valid reason why they remain the favourites for his signature at this point, ahead of Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Los Blancos have been concentrating on bringing Kylian Mbappe to the club, and his unveiling at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday was spectacular in its execution.

Man United still chasing Leny Yoro

Over the past few days, the Red Devils hierarchy held a meeting with Yoro’s agents according to CaughtOffside sources with knowledge of the up to date situation.

Although it’s understood that the player has again told directors of the Premier League side that he is prioritising a transfer to Real Madrid, the La Liga side have only made an offer of €40m to Lille, whereas United’s is believed to €62m.

In any event, Man United are continuing negotiations with Yoro in order to hand him a contract until 2029 and a higher salary.

Leny Yoro personally favours Real Madrid over Man United.

Even if the teenager continues to rebuff the overtures from the Old Trafford outfit, Real Madrid could be minded to wait until next summer before signing Yoro, as he’ll then be a free agent.

The Spanish club value him at a lower fee than Lille are asking, hence why it would appear that they don’t want to involve themselves in a bidding war this summer with Man United.

It’s obvious why Lille would prefer the defender to join United, but if the latter’s attempts are set to fail, Erik ten Hag and the board will prioritise the transfer of Everton ace, Jarrad Branthwaite.

CaughtOffside sources also understand that the Red Devils are open to selling both Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire in the current transfer window, in order to secure funds and make space in the squad for Yoro or Branthwaite.

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Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid is fantastic for both says Fabrizio Romano

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 06:30:00 +0000

Tuesday finally saw Kylian Mbappe sign for Real Madrid, with the entire Santiago Bernabeu rising as one to greet his first steps onto the pitch, albeit for his presentation rather than his debut.

The French World Cup winner will add a new dimension to the Los Blancos attack, and is likely to make Real Madrid one of the most feared clubs in the world – if they weren’t already, with the likes of Vini Jr. and Jude Bellingham in their ranks.

Mbappe move to Real Madrid ‘fantastic’ says Romano

Transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, is just one of many to be excited by the move.

“It’s a fantastic move for Real Madrid and for Mbappe,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.

“Real Madrid already had everything of course, but Mbappe can be very helpful in terms of goals to add as next season will be full of games, new Champions League format, Clubs World Cup…

Kylian Mbappe is unveiled by Real Madrid

“Mbappe is a fantastic addition, and for him it’s a great move as Real Madrid is a fantastic club.”

As Romano states, the football calendar is changing in 2024/25, and we won’t know just how that will affect clubs across Europe until roughly the midway point of the campaign.

From Mbappe’s point of view, all he needs to concentrate on now is doing what he’s always done – putting the ball in the back of the net.

A slower pace in the Spanish top-flight should suit the Frenchman down to the ground, and it wouldn’t really be a surprise if Real’s front three manage to beat the all-time record for goals scored in one season by an attacking triumvirate.

For now, it’s time for Mbappe to rest before joining his team-mates later in their pre-season.

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Man City’s Erling Haaland drops Real Madrid bombshell

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 03:29:22 +0000

It isn’t a thought that any Man City fan in their right mind would want to contemplate, however, it does appear that Erling Haaland sees his future away from the club.

The Norwegian remains one of the world’s best marksmen having plundered goal after goal whilst at the Etihad Stadium, though it seems La Liga beckons for the hit man.

Erling Haaland wants to join Real Madrid

According to Fichajes, he has expressed a clear desire to move to Real Madrid in order that he can link up with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham.

The thought of such a front line is likely to strike fear into the heart of all opposition defences, and would surely rival the likes of Cristiano, Bale and Benzema as well as Messi, Suarez and Neymar as the best ever.

Erling Haaland could leave Man City and join Real Madrid

It isn’t clear what needs to happen in order for Los Blancos to be able to afford the player, but it may be that Haaland will see out the remainder of his current contract at the reigning Premier League champions before moving on a free transfer in the same way as Mbappe has.

Tuesday saw ‘Mbappe day’ at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the Frenchman was greeted by a full to capacity stadium to see him in the all white kit, and to hear his first words as a Real Madrid player.

Haaland could expect much the same treatment if he were to sign on in due course.

His apparent desire to leave might well have something to do with Pep Guardiola, as the Catalan is expected to leave the Cityzens at the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

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Kylian Mbappe admits transfer decision during Real Madrid unveiling

Darren Looney — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 16:33:09 +0000

Real Madrid unveiled Kylian Mbappe in front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday and the superstar admitted that he rejected other offers to complete his move to the La Liga champions.

The French star was a Madrid fan throughout his childhood and one day dreamed of playing in the famous white kit of the Spanish giants. Los Blancos have been chasing the forward for a very long time and came close in 2022, only for the 25-year-old to stay at Paris Saint-Germain for two more years.

This summer, Real Madrid completed the signing of Mbappe and the France international has now admitted that he turned down other offers to join the reigning Champions League winners.

Speaking at his unveiling on Tuesday, Mbappe said via Fabrizio Romano: “I had other offers, but I always told them no.

“I was very confident that this moment would happen. Real Madrid was my only option.”

Kylian Mbappe is a new Real Madrid player

Kylian Mbappe rejected multiple offers to join Real Madrid

Mbappe was always destined to join Real Madrid but the 25-year-old had options to play with other clubs ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Paris Saint-Germain is an obvious one as the Ligue 1 champions were desperate to keep hold of their best player. However, the French superstar felt like it was time to end that chapter of his career having spent many successful campaigns in the French capital.

Another option was potentially Liverpool who were linked to Mbappe the most out of the Premier League clubs. The numbers involved would have made a transfer very hard for the Merseyside outfit but there was some interest.

Video: Kylian Mbappe steps out onto the Santiago Bernabeu pitch as a Real Madrid player

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 11:15:52 +0000

The noise which greeted Kylian Mbappe’s first steps onto the Santiago Bernabeu pitch in a Real Madrid shirt were defeaning.

The Frenchman made his way out of the tunnel to be greeted by a full house of supporters, and as he made his way to a specially constructed stage, the sound grew louder and louder.

Once on stage, he spoke at length in Spanish, and when he kissed the Real badge, it was the cue for everyone in the stands to completely lose their minds once more.

?? Kylian Mbappé salta por primera vez al Santiago Bernabéu pic.twitter.com/D3ywTn6AkS

— MARCA (@marca) July 16, 2024

Kylian Mbappe's speech at his Madrid unveiling. #MbappeDay pic.twitter.com/IvreKda32b

— DTNg (@DailyTrendzNg) July 16, 2024

Pictures from MARCA and Real Madrid TV

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Video: The Santiago Bernabeu is FULL for Kylian Mbappe’s unveiling

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 10:26:22 +0000

If there was any doubt as to Kylian Mbappe’s popularity amongst Real Madrid fans, that was put to bed at Tuesday lunchtime.

Los Blancos’ Santiago Bernabeu stadium was full to bursting ahead of the French forward’s unveiling in front of thousands of adoring supporters.

It was quite the sight to behold, and they’re sure to make the most incredible noise when Mbappe steps out onto the pitch for the first time.

? EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: SANTIAGO BERNABÉU IS ALMOST FULL. ?? pic.twitter.com/dFMO2D6sgy

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) July 16, 2024

Pictures from The Madrid Zone

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Photo: Kylian Mbappe holds his new Real Madrid shirt with Florentino Perez

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:53:22 +0000

Kylian Mbappe day at Real Madrid is already well underway with the French hit-man posing publicly for the first time with his new shirt.

He stood proudly alongside Real president, Florentino Perez, and in front of the multiple Champions League trophies won by the club, and held the shirt bearing his name and the number nine.

A record-breaking number of supporters are expected to pack out the Santiago Bernabeu when Mbappe finally makes his appearance on the pitch later in the day.

? BREAKING: MBAPPE WITH THE SHIRT! pic.twitter.com/urrh4mN2sc

— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) July 16, 2024

Picture courtesy of Real Madrid TV

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Video: Thousands of Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu despite Kylian Mbappe unveiling being hours away

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:10:20 +0000

Kylian Mbappe isn’t due to be presented as a new Real Madrid player until lunchtime in Spain, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of fans turning up early.

The atmosphere is beginning to build in the city and especially around the famous old ground, with things set to be at fever pitch by the time the French striker makes his bow.

It’s believed that there could be even more supporters at this unveiling than there were for Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2009.

? La expectación.

Larguísimas colas en el Santiago Bernabéu para ver la puesta de blanco de Mbappé con el Real Madrid.

? @Raul9Rodriguez pic.twitter.com/6hIOhWse6e

— Relevo (@relevo) July 16, 2024

The line waiting for Kylian Mbappé's presentation. ??pic.twitter.com/88JkM5WON8

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) July 16, 2024

Pictures courtesy of Relevo and AS

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