Kylian Mbappé returns from this World Cup with the Golden Boot, 22 career World Cup goals, and the all time scoring record for the tournament. He is 27 years old. And when his break is over, he will walk into training at the Bernabéu under José Mourinho and pick up the phone to a France squad being assembled by Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane is probably the greatest French footballer who ever lived. Three Champions Leagues as a manager, a World Cup and a European Championship as a player, and a relationship with the game that goes beyond tactics into something closer to instinct. He has waited five years to return to coaching and the job he waited for was not a club. It was France. And the player he is inheriting as captain is the one who just broke the World Cup scoring record.
At club level, Mourinho is not the most decorated manager of his generation. That conversation belongs to Pep Guardiola, who has won fourteen league titles across three countries and rewritten how the game is played in the process.
But what Mourinho has always done better than almost anyone is win in environments where the pressure is institutional and the expectation is immediate. Inter Milan, Porto and Chelsea in his first spell. He delivers trophies when the demand for trophies is existential, and Real Madrid after a trophyless season under three different managers is exactly that kind of environment.
His mandate at the Bernabéu is straightforward. Build everything around Mbappé. Reports from Diario AS confirm the squad is being constructed with that as the explicit brief, with Ibrahima Konaté and Bernardo Silva already through the door as players who have existing relationships with the forward.
Two coaches. Two completely different philosophies. One player at the centre of both projects.
Mbappé has spent his entire career being called the heir to greatness. From next season, he will be coached by the man who defined it.
My name is Ajoje. I am a FIFA Licensed Agent and International Sports Lawyer. I write on the Law and Business of Football, a lot. Repost and Follow if you want to read more posts like this.
Ronaldo won a Ballon d’Or before he was valued at €100 million.
Suárez won the Premier League Golden Boot before his €80 million move.
Bale won a trophy with Tottenham and scored 26 goals in a season before his €100 million transfer.
Meanwhile, Diomande and Kroupi have fewer than 65 senior club goals combined, yet they’re valued at around €130 million each
The Sport is finished
Look at these stats and tell me with a straight face Barcola is a massive upgrade on Gakpo ✅👇
Barcola record in Ligue 1
- 128 games 34 goals.
Gakpo record in the Premier League
- 127 games 32 goals.
Barcola at World Cup
- 8 games 3 goals
Gakpo at World Cup
- 4 games 3 goals.
Barcola in Europe
- 43 games 6 goals
Gakpo in Europe
- 47 games 15 goals
Now can you imagine Gakpo stats if he was playing in Ligue 1 with PSG 🤭
You are being gaslit by some big LFC accounts on here here exactly how good Barcola is.
Remember he is basically leaving PSG because he isn't starting.
So 128 million plus is absolutely ludicrous for Barcola when we have big issues elsewhere 👍