MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé is finally a Real Madrid player.
Real Madrid said on Monday it reached a deal with the France star for the next five seasons, bringing together one of soccer’s top talents and its most successful club.
The announcement came after years of flirtation by Madrid with the player who inherited the status of the best in the game from Lionel Messi.
The 25-year-old World Cup winner with France joins a Madrid team that is already loaded with talent and still celebrating its latest European triumph.
Just two days ago, Madrid won a record-extending 15th European Cup title when it beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League final in London.
Until now, Mbappé has played club soccer only for French teams — first at Monaco and for the past seven seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, which he left as a free agent after it failed to persuade him to renew his contract.
In 2021, Madrid was rejected after offering PSG a bid of 180 million euros — the same amount PSG paid Monaco for a teenage Mbappé years earlier.
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