Kylian Mbappé Reflects on His Decade-Long Journey to Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé says his move to Real Madrid was a decade in the making – and that no one, not even Florentino Pérez, ever really needed to convince him.
The French star, speaking openly to AS, lifted the lid on a long courtship that began when he was still a teenager and ended at the Santiago Bernabéu, exactly where he always felt he was heading.
“He's the one who brought me here. We've stayed in touch for ten years before I arrived,” Mbappé revealed. “He always showed affection and understanding in the context of every decision made, both positive and negative for Real Madrid. He always told me that one day I would play for Real Madrid, and here I am, and very happy.”
That line – ten years of contact – has already ricocheted around social media, underlining how personally involved the Madrid president was in the chase. Mbappé himself was quoted again online: “I was in contact with Pérez since 10 years before joining Real Madrid.”
Yet for all Pérez’s influence, Mbappé made it clear the true pull was the badge itself. This was not a hard sell. For a boy who grew up with posters of Madrid greats on his bedroom wall, the transfer felt less like a negotiation and more like a delayed inevitability.
“To be honest, nothing and no one has to convince you to come to Real Madrid,” the World Cup winner said. “In my history with Madrid, I wanted to come, but it wasn't possible, and ultimately, in football, there are moments and decisions that are beyond your control. In football, timing is key, and you have to wait for everything to be right before you can go.”
Those missed chances to join earlier left their mark. Mbappé admitted the failed attempts hurt, but he refused to dwell on them. The focus stayed on what was coming, not what had slipped away.
“Of course, there's disappointment, but a footballer's life is about looking forward, not back,” he noted.
That mindset explains why he brushes off the idea of anyone needing to persuade him. Not even the most powerful figure in Spanish football.
“No one had to convince me to come to Real Madrid, not even Pérez, as big a club as he is. It was obvious,” he said, underlining again that the institution sells itself. Then came the line that will echo around every dressing room and academy for years: “If you want to be part of football history, one day you have to play for Real Madrid.”
Now that the move is finally done, Mbappé is settling into life at Valdebebas and in the Spanish capital. The change of country has brought him something he did not necessarily expect: calm.
He spoke of a “new sense of peace” since leaving France, even as his global profile has exploded again under the Madrid spotlight. Wearing white, he says, changes everything.
“I expected the best club in the world, to receive a lot of excitement from Madridistas all over the world,” he said. “When I arrived here I already had a status, but when you are a Real Madrid player you move to another level, to a higher level. I think that if you want to belong to the history of football, you have to go through Real Madrid.”
For Mbappé, this is no longer a dream on a bedroom wall. It is the stage he always believed he had to reach. The question now is not why he came – but how far he can go from here.
