Less than 48 hours after winning a record-extending 15th European Cup, Real Madrid announced the signing of French superstar Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
After being heavily linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu for a number of years, the 25-year-old will finally complete his dream transfer to the Spanish capital on July 1, a day after his contract at PSG expires.
Mbappe, who has penned a five-year contract with Los Blancos, departs PSG as their all-time leading scorer with 256 goals in 308 games across seven successful seasons at the Parc des Princes, where he won 17 trophies and developed into one of the world's best players.
The versatile forward will represent France at Euro 2024 this summer before linking up with his new Real Madrid teammates for pre-season, when manager Carlo Ancelotti will work out the best way to fit the club's star signing into his first-team plans.
Ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, Sports Mole takes a look at how Real Madrid could line up with their new 'Galactico' signing Kylian Mbappe.
The arrival of Mbappe is set to see a change in formation from Ancelotti, who primarily deployed a 4-3-1-2 system last season following the departure of striker Karim Benzema. Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Joselu and Brahim Diaz were regularly used as centre-forwards in 2023-24, with English sensation Jude Bellingham starring in his debut campaign at the club in the number 10 role.
However, it is widely expected that Mbappe will operate as a central striker at Real Madrid in the 2024-25 campaign, with Vinicius Junior - who scored a team-high 24 goals last season - moving out to the left flank. Fellow Brazilian Rodrygo, meanwhile, would be the most likely candidate to play on the right side of a formidable-looking front three.
La Liga Player of the Season Bellingham thrived in an advanced midfield role last season and scored an impressive 23 goals across all competitions, but the arrival of Mbappe and a change in formation would presumably see the 20-year-old drop back into a midfield three, although he would still be expected to regularly join in with attacks and put his stamp on matches in the final third.
Bellingham could be supported in a three-man midfield with all-action engine Federico Valverde, who is set to take the No.8 shirt from Toni Kroos when he retires after representing Germany at Euro 2024 this summer. Veteran playmaker Luka Modric, meanwhile, is another option at Ancelotti's disposal, as the 38-year-old is set to sign a one-year contract extension to remain at the club next season.
Eduardo Camavinga is also set to gain regular first-team football in midfield next season after making 46 appearances in 2023-24, and the young Frenchman will likely compete with Valverde and Modric for starts, while Aurelien Tchouameni will be hoping to cement his spot in the first XI as a defensive midfielder.
As things stand, Ferland Mendy is Real Madrid's first-choice left-back ahead of Fran Garcia, although that could change at some stage this summer if long-term target Alphonso Davies completes a proposed move from Bayern Munich.
Amid uncertainty over the future of 34-year-old captain Nacho Fernandez, who is out of contract at the end of the month, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba and Eder Militao are all set to battle for starts in the heart of defence - the latter two will hope to move on from an injury-hit 2023-24 campaign and feature regularly next season.
Dani Carvajal, who scored a crucial goal in Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph over Borussia Dortmund, remains Ancelotti's first-choice right-back ahead of Lucas Vazquez, who is on the verge of signing a contract extension, while Thibaut Courtois will likely continue as the club's number one goalkeeper ahead of Andriy Lunin, who has impressed when called upon in the Belgian's absence due to injury.
Oliver Thomas
