Bellingham's Alcaraz bromance puts Mbappe to Real Madrid in doubt
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 7 Sep 2023 14:57 CDT
- 4 min read
When Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the semi-finals of the US Open tennis tournament, he celebrated with his arms outstretched in the style of Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham.
It was a very deliberate act. Alcaraz had previously expressed his love of Bellingham and on Instagram after his straight-sets victory over Alexander Zverez posted an image of himself along with the caption ‘Hey Jude!’
Bellingham replied with a story post of his own that said: “Keep going mate!”
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Real Madrid are, quite simply, in love with their new English hero, who after four competitive appearances of the club has five goals, including two last-minute winners, and an assist. Without Bellingham, who arrived for a fee of €103 million from Borussia Dortmund this summer, Carlo Ancelotti’s side would not be top of the table.
Already there is no doubt that Bellingham, whose all-round performances have been exceptional, will enjoy hero worship not seen at the Bernabeu since Cristiano Ronaldo departed in 2017 to join Juventus.
But this explosive success of a player who only turned 20 in June must surely raise the question of where Kylian Mbappe fits into the equation at the Bernabeu now.
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Mbappe's long Real Madrid transfer history
Mbappe has long been targeted by Real Madrid, with PSG even desperately trying to offload him to the Spanish side earlier this summer after he turned down the opportunity to extend his contract.
Presently, his contract expires in 2024 and the odds are that he will complete a free transfer to the Bernabeu. Recent indications from France, though, indicate that is no sure thing.
It is a dream of Mbappe’s to move to Los Blancos, but could Bellingham already be so successful that he is stepping on the France superstar’s toes?
After all, Mbappe has been acclaimed as the man almost universally since smashing onto the scene as a 16-year-old with Monaco. While the PSG fans have reserved jeers for the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar, Mbappe has been treated first as a prince and now as a king.
Even after his dispute with the club this summer, the Parisian fans welcomed him back with open arms.
He will not get similar unconditional love in Madrid – not after he turned his back on the club in 2022 to sign a contract extension at PSG after flirting with Los Blancos for months. Fans were seen burning his shirt in the aftermath of that announcement.
Equally, Bellingham has hastily positioned himself as the King of Madrid for the foreseeable future, as Alcaraz’s US Open reaction portrayed.
Instead of being the boss, if Mbappe were to move to Real Madrid, he would be the understudy for virtually the first time in his professional career.
Is this a sacrifice he is willing to take in order to fulfil his dream of playing at the Bernabeu, or could it drive him to sign a new deal at PSG? Only Mbappe can decide, and if we’ve learned anything over the last 18 months, he will take his time to do so.
