The moment the football world has been waiting for has finally arrived: Kylian Mbappé has been officially announced as a signing for Real Madrid this summer, after years of twists and turns in what developed into one of the longest transfer sagas in living memory. The France international will arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu in time for next season, following the conclusion of UEFA Euro 2024, after missing out on the first squad for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer. Mbappe signed off with Paris Saint-Germain with a victory in the Coupe de France final for his final piece of silverware in his home country.
What better place to start than looking at the legacy the 25-year-old is leaving behind at the Parc des Princes?
PSG legacy
- 6x League 1
- 3x Coupe de France
- 3x Trophee des Champions
- 2x Coupé de la Ligue
- 1x UCL second
Mbappe leaves PSG as the French champions’ all-time top scorer in all club competitions with 256 goals and counting, after overtaking former teammate Edinson Cavani (200). The iconic number 7 is also the capital’s top scorer in Ligue 1 history with 175 goals. He leads the way in UEFA competitions (Champions League only) with 42 goals and also has a best score of 39 in domestic cups. Somewhat surprisingly, Mbappé ranks third in PSG’s all-time list for assists in all competitions on 96, with only Angel Di Maria doing better than his teammates, while his 22 UEFA assists lead the way.
Put that into modern statistical terms and the Bondy-born talent has amassed a whopping 352 decisive plays in Parisian colours, which is at least 117 better than anyone in the club’s history. Mbappe is also in the top 10 for all-time appearances, third for UEFA appearances and holds a variety of goals-related records, such as PSG’s fastest scorer (eight seconds), most goals in a match (five) and two UEFA hat-tricks . which is shared with Neymar, the only player in club history to cost more than Mbappe’s $194 million acquisition.
Ligue 1 legacy
- 7x Ligue 1 (PSG and Monaco together)
- 5x top scorer
- 5x Ligue 1 best player
- 3x best French player
- 3x best young player
- 1x top assistants
When you combine Mbappe’s Ligue 1 titles with PSG and Monaco, that’s seven out of eight possible domestic crowns since he made his senior debut in late 2015. His tally of 191 Championnat goals puts him seventh all-time with the closest recognizable and active name. on the list, ASM’s Wissam Ben Yedder is 16th out of 160. However, Mbappe’s ratio of 0.78 goals per game is second only to Carlos Bianchi in the top 10. Although he won’t last long enough to be able vying for a position in the top 10 of all-time appearances, he falls just two titles short of Marquinhos and Marco Verratti’s joint record of nine. In terms of modern figureheads and poster boys for French football, Mbappé is perhaps the strongest profile ever assembled on the modern domestic scene.
Les Bleus so far
- 1x World Cup
- 1x second place at the World Cup
- 1x UEFA Nations League
- 1x World Cup Golden Shoe
- 1x World Cup silver ball
- 1x World Cup Best Young Player
- 1x Kopa trophy
Should Les Blues win UEFA Euro 2024 this summer, Mbappe will have won almost everything possible at international level before officially leaving France for Spain. Moreover, all he would win later this year would be to captain his country after Didier Deschamps named him Hugo Lloris’ replacement following the long-serving goalkeeper’s retirement after Qatar. While the appetite to add a second World Cup from 2026 is undoubtedly there, Mbappe has already secured one of the titles that many of his rivals for future individual glory might never get the chance to call their own. The Olympic Games on home soil were a unique opportunity and his desire to participate in the Games was understandable, but Mbappé is not part of Thierry Henry’s first squad for the time being, although one extra place has been left vacant.
Next La Liga?
What comes next is logically the continuation of his hunt for the individual trophies that have eluded him so far, but now with Real Madrid. The French superstar could follow in George Weah’s footsteps and be another player to be crowned a Ballon d’Or winner after leaving PSG, where most of the work has been done at club level. Compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema have set the bar extremely high in that regard, even though Zizou’s Ballon d’Or victory came with Juventus and not Los Blancos. True and bitter rivals Barcelona have 12 Ballon d’Or wins each, although Barcelona have six different winners to their Madrid rivals’ eight. Can Mbappé break this deadlock in the near future? That will certainly be part of his thoughts as Carlo Ancelotti’s side need no help securing domestic or continental success after their 36th La Liga title was followed by a 15th UCL crown. However, an otherwise poor season from Spanish clubs in Europe has seen the Italian Serie A overtake La Liga in the UEFA coefficient, dampening Mbappe’s desire for individual recognition – almost exclusively limited to Real and Barcelona players, apart from Lionel Messi’s two Argentina-inspired titles with PSG and then Inter Miami – are perfectly timed.
