Kylian Mbappé's Decade-Long Journey to Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappé says his move to Real Madrid was a decade in the making – and that Florentino Pérez never once let the line go dead.

In a candid interview with AS, the French forward lifted the lid on the long courtship that finally ended with him walking into the Santiago Bernabéu as a Madrid player.

“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 bond with the club president has been doing the rounds on social media too, with Mbappé quoted as saying: “I was in contact with Pérez since 10 years before joining Real Madrid.”

Yet for all Pérez’s influence, Mbappé insists this was never about a hard sell. The badge did the talking.

‘Nothing and no one has to convince you’

Mbappé grew up with Real Madrid on his bedroom walls. Posters of Bernabéu icons, dreams of white shirts and Champions League nights. For him, the move always felt inevitable, even when failed attempts left him bruised.

“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 earlier near-misses hurt, he admitted, but they never changed the direction of travel.

“Of course, there's disappointment, but a footballer's life is about looking forward, not back,” he reflected.

So when the door finally opened, there was no need for grand speeches, not even from 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,” Mbappé said. He then distilled his thinking into a line that will echo around Valdebebas for years: “If you want to be part of football history, one day you have to play for Real Madrid.”

A new life, a higher level

Since landing in Spain, Mbappé has settled quickly into life at Valdebebas and in the capital. The change of country has brought calm off the pitch, even as the glare on it has intensified.

“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.”

For Mbappé, that higher level is not just about fame or pressure. It is about legacy.

“I think that if you want to belong to the history of football, you have to go through Real Madrid,” he concluded.

Now he is there. The decade-long conversation with Pérez is over. The one that really matters – with history – has just begun.