For all intents and purposes, Real Madrid replaced Karim Benzema, a 35-year-old center-forward, with Jude Bellingham, a 20-year-old midfielder, last season and won the Champions League. In theory, that shouldn't make any sense, but this is Madrid's universe. Whatever they do is probably going to work.
We are living in an era of Premier League dominance. A large percentage of money in soccer either flows into or out of England. According to Deloitte's annual figures, the Premier League housed six of the 10 clubs that made more than €500 million last year, with Manchester United topping €700m and Manchester City topping €800m. Even this summer, with Premier League teams trying to understand (and/or skate around) new profit and sustainability rules, most of Europe's biggest transfer moves have come from London, Manchester and Birmingham, England's three richest cities.
As tilted as the soccer world may be toward England, however, Madrid always has the final say. Real Madrid won its sixth Champions League title in 11 years on June 1. The very next day, they announced they were signing Kylian Mbappé, the best available player in the world. He is probably soccer's best left-sided attacker, and he'll now be asked to play with Vinícius Júnior, probably soccer's second-best left-sided attacker. They gravitate toward almost the exact same places on the pitch.
This could be an awkward fit. And since Real Madrid are the ones attempting it, it will almost certainly work.
As the 2024-25 club season rapidly approaches, let's talk about what awaits Mbappé and some of the other big names that changed teams this summer. What strengths do they bring to their new teams? What can or should be expected of them?