Kylian Mbappe is capable of making the same kind of impact at Real Madrid as that once enjoyed by five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, claims Steve McManaman.
Speculation regarding a switch to Spain for the Paris Saint-Germain striker refuses to go away.
The World Cup winner certainly fits the ‘Galactico’ mould for the Blancos and still has plenty of potential to unlock at just 20 years of age.
Real would welcome the opportunity to let the exciting forward flourish at Santiago Bernabeu.
McManaman can appreciate why his former club are so keen, with there every reason to believe that Mbappe can scale the same heights as those enjoyed by Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Quizzed by HorseRacing.net on whether the Frenchman could emulate a Portuguese superstar, McManaman said: “I think he would have the same sort of impact.
“I think he’s the next global superstar now Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are coming to the backend of their careers.
“Neymar hasn’t really kicked on in the fashion that we all expected him to kick on at PSG. Kylian Mbappe is a young player, he’s very, very exciting and I think he’s got that aura about him to be the next superstar.
“Real Madrid have pinpointed him, haven’t they? They know that marketing-wise they can make a lot of money back on him and it’s all about how much he would be, if they could get him, how much his wages would be and whether they could afford him.
“I think he could certainly have that type of impact, it’s just that Real Madrid would have to do a bit of number crunching because they would probably start to fall foul of the problems that Manchester City are currently facing.
“You just can’t have that many star players in a team with everything being absolutely fine. Then you add another player to the mix who’s going to probably eclipse everybody.
“It will be interesting to see if they can pull the transfer off.”
Mbappe, who has seen fresh terms mooted at PSG, has further enhanced his reputation this season by netting 24 times in 29 appearances – with his overall haul for the club now standing at 84 efforts in just 116 outings.
