Real Madrid had been waiting for Kylian Mbappe for two years. Tic followed tac, followed tic, followed tac. And then, on August 14, 2023, a deafening silence heard all around the world. Even the Madrid cheerleaders on El Chiringuito stopped their infamous countdown. "A historic moment," they called it with characteristic bombast. "It's OVER!"
It wasn't, of course. Nobody thought that for a second - not even Mbappe's employers at Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain knew as well as anyone that the speculation surrounding their star player's future would continue unabated, because the move to Madrid had merely been postponed - not abandoned.
And so here we are again, with Mbappe seemingly set for a free transfer to Santiago Bernabeu. The big difference is that, this time, it really does look like the most painfully protracted transfer saga in football history is finally going to end.
