It took Real Madrid almost three years to sort the Kylian Mbappe signing, in the end. He was supposed to join the club on at least two occasions - and came within one immense Paris Saint-Germain contract offer from doing so in 2022. But it was an open secret that the France captain wanted to be a Madrid player. It was simply a matter of when.
Of course, Madrid sealed the deal - on favourable terms, too; Mbappe is their highest earner, but he is not making astronomical money. All told, it seems a good deal for Los Blancos. Except, things might not be perfect. Depending on which school of thought you subscribe to, it seemed that Madrid were signing either the best or second-best player in the world - Erling Haaland would like a word - last summer.
But instead, they might just have brought in the wrong guy. That's because Vinicius Jr, their in-house left winger, is a more impactful player. Mbappe may grab the goals, and snag the headlines, but Vinicius, ahead of claiming the first of what could be many Ballons d'Or, is the better player. And with a Clasico to come, it is Vinicius, not Mbappe, who might make the difference.