MADRID — France forward Kylian Mbappé said on Tuesday he was so convinced he would one day play for Real Madrid that he began taking Spanish classes at school.
"Since I was a child, I knew my destiny was to play for Real Madrid," Mbappé said at a Bernabeu stadium packed with fans, many of them wearing replica shirts with his name.
Mbappé was met on stage at the unveiling ceremony by compatriot and former Real Madrid player and manager Zinedine Zidane, who in 2012 had invited Mbappe to visit the club when he was 13-years-old, a visit that he described as an important moment in his life.
Mbappé Real Madrid unveiling
¡Bienvenido a tu nueva casa, @KMbappe! #WelcomeMbappé pic.twitter.com/rFtyvX4qdo
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) July 16, 2024
@KMbappe #WelcomeMbappé pic.twitter.com/gxCPRjlEvi
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) July 16, 2024
1, 2, 3… ¡HALA MADRID!
️ @KMbappe #WelcomeMbappé pic.twitter.com/cEOhEF6K4E— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) July 16, 2024
ICONIC pic.twitter.com/sygzAQ7hDj
— Zamani (@xx_zamani) July 16, 2024
The 2018 World Cup winner arrived at a press conference later clutching a model of the Bernabeu stadium he said he'd been given as an eight-year-old.
He surprised journalists by speaking in near flawless Spanish, which he said he had begun learning at school and then continued to practice with Spanish-speaking managers such as Luis Enrique and Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain because he knew he would need to speak it one day at his dream club.
"I wasn't the best at school but I had this dream of playing for Real Madrid and I knew that speaking the language would help me adapt," he said.
Real Madrid announced in June that Mbappé was joining the LaLiga side as a free agent on a five-year contract, ending a transfer saga that had rumbled on for several years.
The club had courted Mbappé in the past but failed to land the player, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May 2022 when the Spanish club had a bid rejected.
The forward won six Ligue 1 titles, four French cups and became PSG's record goal scorer with 256 goals during seven years in Paris but failed to win the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.
Mbappé reached the semi-finals of the European Championship with France after breaking his nose in the first game against Austria.
He said he would speak to Real Madrid's medical team and manager Carlos Ancelotti before deciding whether to undergo surgery.
Mbappé, 25, joins a Madrid side already boasting stars such as Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham and led by Ancelotti -- the most successful coach in Champions League history with five titles.
Mbappe has often played as a left-sided attacker for club and country, the same position preferred by Vinicius but did not envision fighting over positions.
"I can play in all three positions upfront. Where I'm going to play doesn't matter to me," he said. "I'm arriving (at the club) and have to adapt to the team."
(Reporting by Charlie Devereux, Editing by Christian Radnedge)
