How Vinicius Junior helped lure Mbappe and Bellingham to Real Madrid
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has revealed how he helped Real Madrid to sign Kylian Mbappe, with the Brazilian claiming to have acted as the French forward’s “agent”. World Cup winner Mbappe finally became a ‘Galactico’ at the Bernabeu in 2024, following several years of speculation regarding a move to Spain, and has become a prolific presence for Los Blancos.
Mbappe has registered 82 goals for Real through 90 appearances in all competitions, with the target being found on 38 occasions this season. He won La Liga's Golden Boot last season and tops that chart again this term.
Real are chasing down more major silverware, in domestic and continental competition, with their fearsome No.10 leading that charge. They worked hard to bring Mbappe onto their books, with a window of opportunity opening up when his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired.
Mbappe headed to Spain as a free agent, penning a lucrative contract, with the Frenchman having never shied away from the fact that it was his dream to represent the Madrid-based heavyweights. He was, however, still talked into treading that path by prominent figures who were already on Los Blancos’ books.
How Vinicius got Mbappe & Bellingham to the Bernabeu
Vinicius took it upon himself to make a move happen, with Mbappe being sounded out on a regular basis. The Brazil international has told Ibai Llanos, with an England international midfielder also being coaxed into heading for Spain: “Every summer I wrote to him [Mbappe]: ‘When are you coming?’ I acted as an agent. With [Jude] Bellingham I did too. I want to play with the best to have more options to win. We spend more time with each other than with our family. We have to have a good relationship.”
There has previously been talk of Mbappe and Vinicius enduring a strained relationship, as they both want to be the main man in Madrid, but said rumours have been played down on a regular basis.
Mbappe has said: “I have a very good relationship with Vinicius. Much better this year, we got to know each other much more. He’s a great player and, as a person, a very good one.
“Two famous players on the same team sell a lot of papers... We know people talk about us all the time. I normalise it because the day there’s a real problem, hopefully it never happens, I’ll say it’s serious. And people will listen and understand that I mean it. This isn’t serious. In the life of a famous footballer, or a Real Madrid player, this isn’t serious.”
Source: YEN.com.gh
