No doubt we are finally reaching the end of the Mbappe transfer saga. Man City is Out, Barca is out and it has in fact come down to 2 teams: Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain. Financially, we understand from his Mother that both offers are very similar so we’re not going to be comparing them. Which one is his best choice for all the rest of the right reasons? Well, Jim is going to tell you that he should stay, but I believe he’s wrong. I believe Mbappe should go to Real and I’ll tell you why.
Firstly, though, let me say that there is no doubt a good and solid case to be made for Kylian to stay and I’m sure Jim’s going to make it. He’d be playing in his home country, he’d be a national hero, he’d have a say on club decisions. Yes, these are all nice and for most players these would be enough, but Mbappe is no regular player.
Most soccer people recognize him as one of the very top few talents in the league paired with a fierce competitive streak. Few people will ever be as important in the next 10 years to their club as will Mbappe. He already has 5 Ligue 1 Championships under his belt. Without a doubt a player of this stature almost owes it to the game to move to a bigger club in a more challenging league. Mbappe is a player who should be seen by more fans. Being locked away in France for both Club and National team minimize the amount of international exposure he gets and reduces the potential revenue generated by increased interested due to his talents for FIFA, the Clubs and himself.
Even if he doesn’t owe it to the game, he most certainly owes it to himself. We can only grow as much as we are challenged and Kylian is no longer challenged at PSG. While Ligue 1 is a good league with good players, it simply does not have the challenge required to push Mbappe to his limit. How many Champions League Finals have Ligue 1 teams been to? How many have they won? Moving up to La Liga will provide him with a much bigger challenge on a regular basis and with him on the front lines at Real, they are almost guaranteed deep Champions League runs every year.
Of course, we have all heard that playing for Real is his childhood dream and perhaps to many of us older, more jaded folks it doesn’t seem like much of a reason but in truth, it is the most important reason of all. Even with all the talent in the world and a strong desire to win a player needs one more ingredient to reach their potential: joy. That’s what playing for Real would provide for Mbappe that he can’t get anywhere else. The simple joy of playing for his boyhood dream team. Anything less and we won’t see the best Mbappe can be. And even though I am A Barca fan, I am first and foremost a fan of the game. As such, I want to see the best players playing the game at their peak.
So he should go to Real Madrid to become the best he can be and play on one of Soccer’s biggest stages.