Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, La Liga, Transfer News, Diego Maradona
Cristiano Ronaldo superstar status at Real Madrid stopped the La Liga giants from signing a football superstar back in 2017, it has been claimed.
Kylian Mbappe has established himself as Real Madrid’s talisman since joining upon the expiry of his Paris Saint-Germain contract in the summer of 2024.
This term Mbappe has netted 18 goals in 16 combined La Liga and Champions League encounters for Real Madrid this term, while he registered his 400th career goal on international duty with France earlier this week.
Now a bonafide superstar, Mbappe has fulfilled the immense potential he showed as a teenager plying his trade at Monaco.
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Indeed, back in 2017 football icon Diego Maradona insisted that Madrid should sign Mbappe, but added that Los Blancos president Florentino Pérez had been put off by the prospect of signing another superstar attacker with Cristiano Ronaldo still in the side.
“For me, Mbappe is the revelation of football. I think he can surpass many,” Maradona told AS.
“Why did they not sign him? I told Florentino to sign Mbappe. I told him when we saw each other at Fifa.”
Asked for Perez’s response, Maradona replied: “He told me…’But you know I have Cristiano’.
“Let them sell [Gareth] Bale, give Bale away.
“He’ll surely be a makeweight for something, and Florentino will be left with half of Madrid or half of Italy and Bale will play for AC Milan or Inter. But I think they have to buy Mbappe.”
Of course, Mbappe’s goal tally has put him near the top of Real’s all-time scoring charts when it comes to his first 75 club games.
The France star has netted 62 goals in his first 75 encounters, helping his team achieve 52 wins, six draws and 17 losses in the time.
Among those games are 14 in which he has scored two or more goals, and four hat tricks.
