Better than MSN? Kylian Mbappe forms Real Madrid attack to rival legendary Barcelona unit of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez & Neymar as as French superstar joins Vinicius Jr & Rodrygo in Spain

Not all that long ago, when chasing down La Liga and Champions League titles of their own, Catalan giants at Camp Nou had Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar terrorising opposition defences. Real sought to counter that threat with their BBC frontline of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real have remained competitive since bidding farewell to prolific forwards – with more domestic and continental glory savoured in 2024 – but they have moved to bolster the threat that they pose by bringing in World Cup winner Mbappe as a free agent.

His presence at Santiago Bernabeu is a frightening thought, with ex-France international Sagna telling CoinPoker what his fellow countryman adds to the Blancos alongside Brazilian stars Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo: “Mbappe’s starting position will be as a number nine, but those three players will interchange at will. I think these three players will have the same impact and play in the same style as Barcelona’s legendary combination of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. They will have the same vibe; great players, great friends having fun on the football pitch and scoring lots and lots of goals.”

Questions have been asked of how Real will fit Mbappe into their system – with the French superstar often more at home in the same left wing berth that Vinicius fills – but Sagna added on the 25-year-old settling in new surroundings: “I don’t think there will be any issues integrating Mbappe into the Real Madrid team. Madrid will have already sorted that problem; they would have been speaking about his role and explained the project to him in great detail. He will know where he will play and what Carlo Ancelotti will expect from him. Mbappe will understand that there is a hierarchy within the squad and that Vinicius Junior will likely start most of the games from the left because that is a position that he has made his own over the last few years. Mbappe is a really clever kid. He will be able to adapt, and I expect Real Madrid to play in an even more fluid style when he joins. Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo will be given a lot of freedom to express themselves and they will rotate. When players like that have the freedom to move around the pitch and swap positions, it makes them even more dangerous.”

That should send shivers down the spine of Real’s domestic and continental rivals, with the Blancos expected to be even more dominant in 2024-25 than they were this year – with the Spanish heavyweights also preparing to welcome Brazilian wonderkid Endrick onto their books alongside Jude Bellingham and Co.