MADRID, Spain -- Looking up at the Real Madrid fans packed into the stands at the Santiago Bernabeu, Kylian Mbappé smiled. He had waited a long time to say these words.
"Wow. It's incredible to be here," he said. "I dreamt for many years about playing for Real Madrid. Today, that dream comes true."
The story is well known by now: Mbappé followed Real Madrid as a boy, visited the club on trial, almost joined them in 2017 and again in 2022. Now, Mbappé has actually arrived, officially signing a five-year contract Tuesday after leaving Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Such a long wait deserves a warm welcome and Real Madrid's fans agreed, flocking to the stadium to greet him. The crowds meant it felt like an off-season LaLiga matchday, but this was all about one man. The vendors didn't disappoint either, with Mbappé shirts, scarves and facemasks all readily available. The new club shop, built into the side of the redeveloped Bernabeu, became the Kylian Mbappé shop. His face was displayed floor to ceiling on giant screens, the shelves stocked almost exclusively with his shirts.
Fans had queued for hours in the Madrid sunshine, with temperatures coming close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) waiting for the stadium's gates to open ahead of a midday start. All the tickets -- made available for free to club members -- had been snapped up days earlier.
The Bernabeu pitch was turned into a stage for the occasion. At one end, where one of the goals would usually be, was a huge podium backed by a giant screen, with Madrid's 15 European Cups on display. In front of it were seats for invited guests, family and friends, plus Madrid's club directors, and ample space for photographers and TV cameras. A blue walkway was fashioned to guide Mbappé from the tunnel and across the pitch.
Fifteen years ago, a near-impossible standard was set for player presentations at the Bernabeu when, on the evening of July 6, 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced at his new home. The stadium was filled with 85,000 fans to greet the Ballon d'Or winner, with people spilling out of the stands and onto the pitch.
A club employee told ESPN they'd never seen anything like the chaos that day. It was described as the biggest event of its kind, topping Diego Maradona's presentation at Napoli in 1984. Alfredo di Stefano and Portugal's Eusebio were in attendance for Ronaldo, with even the player looking impressed.
Could Mbappé's arrival -- even longer awaited -- live up to the hype?
For a start, Tuesday's crowd didn't quite match that for Ronaldo. There were blocks of seats kept empty at each end, behind the goals, and no mass crowds on the pitch, and there were seats dotted around the stands. Estimates range from at least 70,000 present, with the club putting the figure closer to 80,000. Either way, the fans who were there made their presence felt.
The crowd's first significant roar came when Mbappé was pictured on the Bernabeu's big screens, walking into the stadium. There was another when he was shown behind the scenes, putting on his new number nine shirt. A third came when the architect of Mbappé's arrival, president Florentino Perez appeared. He walked out to take his seat in the front row, followed by the club's honorary president, Pirri, and a surprise guest: Mbappé's idol and mentor, Zinedine Zidane.
The crowd was kept entertained by videos of Madrid's greatest Champions League moments -- Zidane's 2002 volley against Bayer Leverkusen yielded the biggest cheer -- before being shown Mbappé's career highlights to date, including photos of him as a boy, wearing a Madrid shirt. When the preamble was over, Perez spoke first. He introduced Mbappé, calling him "the kid who is now the star."
After years of failed bids, near-misses and about-turns, it felt almost surreal. Out stepped Mbappé onto the pitch wearing a full Madrid kit, beaming and waving at the crowd.
"You fell in love with Real Madrid as a boy," Perez said. "I know you'll never forget that day in December 2012, when Zinedine Zidane invited you to Real Madrid City. Your love for Real Madrid has given you the strength to overcome every obstacle to be here. You're here because you wanted to be. Thank you for making an effort to wear this shirt."
That last line was an overt reference to Mbappé's very public struggle to leave Paris Saint-Germain, which saw Madrid's efforts to sign him rebuffed in 2021 and 2022. It's true that Mbappé had to fight to be here, refusing to bend under pressure to exercise an option to extend his PSG contract until 2025, and ensuring that he could move for free this summer.
Kylian Mbappe addresses a full Santiago Bernabéu as he is unveiled as a new Real Madrid player.
It was also clear that while this was a big day for Mbappé, it was just as big for Perez. No signing had ever taken this long, required this much patience, care and discretion. When Mbappé finally had his chance to speak, he did so in near-perfect Spanish.
"I want to thank the president [Perez] first," Mbappé said. "He believed in me from the start. A lot of things happened ... but I want to say thank you. I want to thank everyone who worked for me to come here. I know it was difficult, but now I'm here."
The crowd chanted for him to "kiss the badge" and Mbappé obliged, before posing for photos and taking a lap of the pitch.
"I was sure the moment would arrive"
Despite this being an occasion worthy of music or pyrotechnics, this was a very Real Madrid presentation. There were no fireworks, light show or histrionics. It was austere, and a little old-fashioned. Later, in the Bernabeu press room underneath the stadium, there was time for more reflection on that long wait to join Real Madrid as Mbappé faced his first questions from the media.
In that setting, Mbappé's performance was superlative, the France star putting on a tour de force in charm and charisma. One thing is clear: He has been preparing for this moment for a long, long time.
In a 40-minute news conference, he fielded most questions in effortless Spanish, often without the need to check the interpreter's translation. He only switched to French to answer those journalists who had flown in from Paris to cover his arrival, which impressed the Madrid-based media pack.
"It was a dream," Mbappé repeated, when asked to identify the precise moment he'd decided to join Madrid. "Then, it became an objective. I was close to signing for Real Madrid two years ago, and three years ago. It's part of the life of a footballer."
He said his earliest Madrid memories were watching Zidane, the man responsible for bringing him to the club on trial and arguably the first step in the path that led him here.
"When Cristiano [Ronaldo] arrived, I watched every game ...," Mbappé said. "I saw Cristiano's presentation [in 2009] with my family. Like any kid, I said, 'One day, I want to be him.'"
Despite his failure to secure moves in 2021 and 2022, he said he never had doubt. "I was sure the moment would arrive," Mbappé said. "For me, Madrid were the only option. I had offers from a lot of clubs. But I always said that when I left Paris, I'd go to Real Madrid."
When asked, he offered few specifics. Mbappé was reluctant to dwell on his fight to leave PSG, or say whether he'd require surgery on the broken nose he picked up with France at Euro 2024, or exactly how he'll fit into Madrid's frontline alongside Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo.
Before his presentation -- and after his early morning medical -- Mbappé had stopped off at the training ground, meeting coach Carlo Ancelotti and the handful of players who are already back in preseason training ahead of the club's U.S. tour. "I'll play where the boss [Ancelotti] wants," Mbappé said. "I can play in the three positions in the attack. The most important thing is to be right physically and mentally, to help the team.
"For me, there isn't a debate. I want to be on the pitch, but where I'll play ... I don't care."
Now that fans have got a look at Mbappé in a Madrid shirt, they'll want more, but he doesn't know when that broken nose -- and the need to rest after a long season -- will allow him to play. "We spoke this morning with the medical team," he said. "We'll see what we do. I hope I'll play the [UEFA] Super Cup [against Atalanta on Aug. 14] ... The U.S. tour, we'll see. If the club want me to go, I'll go."
Whenever that long-awaited debut comes, this is a new era, and Real Madrid -- already reigning champions of Spain and Europe -- have a new star. Tuesday was just the beginning.