While Real Madrid fans await the official announcement of Kylian Mbappe’s transfer to their favorite club, talk has turned to how Mbappe will fit into his new team.
Mbappe has mostly played through the middle for PSG this season in order to accommodate Lionel Messi and Neymar, but his best position is generally regarded as No. 7. Mbappe, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, prefers to score goals by crossing with his right foot from the left side.
Madridistas have speculated on how that will work with Vinicius Jr., who idolizes Ronaldo and prefers to play on the left side of the attack. Vini, unlike Mbappe, who has won a World Cup in this position, has no prior experience on the field.
But, as we previously reported, Mbappe made it clear to PSG during contract negotiations that he is not interested in playing as a right winger.
At Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe will play as a striker in a 4-4-2 formation.
According to Mario Cortegana of MARCA, Real Madrid have already considered all of these scenarios and will not ask Kylian Mbappe to move to the right side of the attack. In their 4-3-3 formation, he will not start as a right winger.
Next season, Mbappe will be “The Guy” in Madrid. Benzema will be there to assist him in scoring, just as he took a step back from his own scoring to assist Cristiano Ronaldo in putting up the most incredible scoring output in football history during his time in the Spanish capital. That is the standard Mbappe aspires to surpass, following in the footsteps of CR7 to establish his own moniker, KM7.
That’s because, according to the top reporter, Real does not intend to play primarily with a 4-3-3 formation. When they sign Mbappe – which appears to be more of a “when” than a “if” at this point – they will switch to a 4-4-2 with Mbappe up top alongside another of his favorite players, Karim Benzema.
Vini would still play on the left in that case, albeit as a ball-progressor and winger. That’s fine. That’s fine with him. Fede Valverde, presumably, would be the option on the right, though other players such as Rodrygo Goes and even Lucas Vazquez could be considered.
