Kylian Mbappe 'born to play for Real Madrid... like Bellingham' – PSG forward tipped to follow England midfielder to Bernabeu
A board member at the Spanish side has backed Los Blancos to tie up a move for the Paris Saint-Germain attacker in the near future
Real Madrid board member Jose Manuel Otero has backed Kylian Mbappe to join the Spanish side soon from Paris Saint-Germain, saying he is born to play for the club... like Jude Bellingham.
Mbappe is a long-time target for Los Blancos and has been strongly linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu in each of the last two summers.
In 2022, he signed a new two-tear extension to stay at PSG, but the French champions were unhappy at his refusal to sign again this past summer and he was frozen out for a while before eventually returning to first-team action.
"Mbappe had the opportunity to sign for Real Madrid this summer," Otero told Twitch channel Remontada Blanca. "To come he would have had to give up some very high bonuses that he had already agreed with Paris Saint-Germain.
"On top of that, he would have been transferred [for a fee]. The amount that would have had to be paid to have Mbappe a year earlier was crazy.
"It didn't make sense to sign Mbappe a year earlier even though there was a need in [Karim] Benzema's position."
Otero still thinks Mbappe will end up at Real Madrid and insists glory awaits the French forward at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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"We hope that Mbappe has thought the same as Bellingham," he said. "I am confident that Mbappe will come. Mbappe will achieve glory when he comes to Real Madrid. He will win a Champions League someday.
"Now it seems that PSG is less powerful than before because they no longer have such good players. Madrid guarantees security, a seriousness that gives results. I trust he will say yes when he is a free agent.
"Mbappe was born to play for Real Madrid, of course."
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.