Madrid, Jul 16 (IANS): The day that all Real Madrid fans have yearned for is finally here as Kylian Mbappe has officially been unveiled at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu, taking his first step into Los Blancos' tradition.
A transfer saga which has been ongoing for seven years and at times seemed to be heading towards a dead end but Florentino Perez finally secured the signature of the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup.
The fans were allowed free entry at the stadium which resulted in the tickets getting sold out in no time as the Madridstas flooded in numbers to see the French captain in the famous white jersey of the Galacticos.
Mbappe arrived at the stadium earlier in the day and had his medical before proceeding to sign his contract. The megastar then went ahead and posed with president Florentino Perez as part of the media duties. All the formalities were live screened for the fans at the stadium who cheered and waited eagerly for him to step onto the pitch.
The event kicked off when president Florentino Perez walked out to a roaring round of applause. This was followed by a compilation playing on the big screen which showcased the European pedigree of the club with the video showing clips of all 15 Champions League wins, the trophies were also set on the stage.
Following the Real Madrid UCL video package, a compilation of Mbappe’s affiliation with Real Madrid was played which showed the young Frenchman growing into the player he is today.
Just like Cristiano Ronaldo was presented to the iconic stadium by Portuguese striker Eusebio, Real Madrid’s greatest Frenchman Zinedine Zidane was present to welcome Mbappe to his new home.
Mbappe joined a long and illustrious list of legends who have been presented in such fashion which includes the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard to name a few.
He went on to give a speech in which he thanked the incredible crowd and Perez. The crowd went into absolute mayhem when he kissed the Real Madrid badge. He then conclude his speech by giving a tribute to Ronaldo recreating his iconic presentation by saying “Uno, dos, tres, Hala Madrid!"
Mbappe will be donning the number nine jersey for the team and has signed a contract reported to be worth 15 Million Euros which will keep him at the club till 2029.