Mbappe has finally ended his long-running saga and completed a free transfer to Los Blancos ahead of Euro 2024. He will join up with his new team-mates next month when the team fly to the United States for a pre-season tour.
The captain of Les Bleus is considered the player who will take Real Madrid to a higher level of domestic and European dominance in the years to come. In his last season in Paris, he scored 44 goals in all competitions, which is a career record for Paris Saint-Germain, and he will be keen to impose himself in Madrid.
A positioning problem
However, one of the most pressing questions for Carlo Ancelotti is how to integrate him into a winning Real Madrid team. Ancelotti almost exclusively played in a 4-3-1-2 formation as Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League in 2024. PSG played more often than not in a 4-3-3 formation, with Mbappé on the left of an attacking trio, a space mainly occupied by Vinicius Junior at Madrid.
At PSG, Mbappe has played in the central position intermittently, but his natural role is that of Vinicius, and it is a headache for Ancelotti. Manu Petit has given his point of view on the situation and he thinks that Mbappe will be the one who will have to adapt.
“ Mbappé is intelligent and will try to adapt quickly to his teammates. He knows the press is waiting for him. She won’t give him time or excuses.” according to an interview with Diario AS. Vini did well, as did Rodrygo and Bellingham. The only free position in Madrid is center forward and I think Mbappé plays there. This is the best way to proceed if you don’t want to have problems with the players, especially with the one who has just arrived. I don’t think Ancelotti replaces Mbappé with Vini and he knows it. It’s a challenge for Real Madrid. »
