By now, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Kylian Mbappe will join Real Madrid in the summer 2022 transfer window.
PSG have tried to get their superstar forward to sign a long-term contract that would make him the highest-paid player in the world, and they have tried to do this for quite some time. In addition, they have made major signings to appease his desire for the best sporting project possible.
But thus far, Mbappe has not been swayed. There remains some drama, and Madridistas will not rest easy until Mbappe is officially presented at the Santiago Bernabeu. That said, from the perspective of reporters and insiders, they have made it very clear that the expectation is for Mbappe to be a Madrid player in 2022-23.
What’s become interesting, though, is the rumblings that a notable name from PSG could be joining Mbappe in Madrid. Wistfully, Madridistas would like that to be the “one who got away”, Achraf Hakimi, but that reunion seems highly unrealistic. After all, Hakimi has been a huge success – even bigger than Lionel Messi – in his first season with PSG.
According to the Daily Mail’s chief football reporter Sami Mokbel, it is PSG’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino, who is being eyed by Real Madrid. The club is said to be “huge admirers” of the Argentine, having courted him through the media last summer while he was still under contract at PSG.
The Parisians understandably would not entertain the idea of losing their manager – least of all to Real – so Los Blancos reunited with Carlo Ancelotti, whose own future is in doubt after a string of poor results. One of them, of course, was the loss to PSG in the Champions League, after which Carletto was heavily criticized.
A very interesting nugget of Mokbel’s report isn’t the idea that Real Madrid and Manchester United could be competing for Pochettino’s signature, as that is nothing new. Poch has been linked with the United post ever since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge.
No, it is the discussion of Mbappe’s potential view of the deal. Mbappe won’t get to work with his hero Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, but he could continue his positive working relationship with the man who once took Tottenham to a Champions League Final.
Mokbel calls the relationship between Mbappe and Pochettino “close” and writes that the Frenchman could play a role in Poch potentially joining Los Merengues. Signing Mbappe could, therefore, help facilitate Pochettino joining Madrid.
If Mbappe wants to work with Poch and Real stumble to close the season, that could be enough to convince Florentino Perez to part ways with Carlo and choose Pochettino as the next man to lead the revolution. And on the other end, Mbappe could seal Poch’s mind that Madrid is a better destination than United, though, well, it should not take much convincing there…
How would Madridistas feel about Pochettino? Ambivalent, probably. There are those who would want the team to go for a blockbuster name like Jurgen Klopp, some who would want a Zidane reunion, a few who would want to go all-in on Raul, the ten Hag crowd, and maybe even a few unrealistic shouts for dream option Julian Nagelsmann.
But the Mbappe/Pochettino duo is an intriguing one. Mbappe’s future has Real Madrid written all over it. Poch? The rumors seem to be increasing in 2022. (Now if only some Hakimi buzz could get going…)