Real Madrid still hoping for dream Mbappe-Haaland-Vinicius Jr frontline

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 4 min read

It has been a few years since Real Madrid had what could be described as a 'Galactico' team full of world superstars.

The famed 'BBC' trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo is gone, with the Welshman well out of favour and CR7 now at Manchester United after a spell at Juventus.

At the turn of the millennium we saw the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham arrive at Santiago Bernabeu to create the most star-studded Real Madrid side in history.

FOOTBALLTRANSFERS' MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS IN THE WORLD

Now president Florentino Perez is attempting another Galactico project, and he hopes it will be led by a devastating front three of Vinicius Junior, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Mundo Deportivo reports that Madrid are working tirelessly not only to sign Mbappe and Haaland, but to renew the contract of Vinicius which would allow them to field what would undoubtedly be one of the best attacking trios in the world.

Let's look at where things stand currently for each player.

Vinicius Junior

Previously a target of scathing criticism for his final product, Vinicius Junior has enjoyed the best season of his career in 2021/22, flourishing next to Benzema.

While the position on the right of the front three has largely been interchangeable, Vinicius Jr and Benzema play every match where possible, such as their importance to the team now.

The Brazilian has kept €100 million man Eden Hazard on the bench for the majority of the latter's time at the club, and it now appears that he is hitting the apex of his abilities.

His current contract runs out in the summer of 2024 and Real Madrid are keen to extend it to ward off interest from the Premier League.

Erling Haaland

Haaland is probably the hottest property in world football at the moment, and over the last 12 months has been linked with every elite club in Europe including Barcelona, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Bayern, Juventus and PSG as well as Madrid.

It was previously thought that Real Madrid were putting all of their attention into Mbappe as their marquee signing for the summer, but the prospect of pairing him with Haaland seems to be too much to ignore for Perez.

The Norwegian has a €75 million release clause which can be activated this summer, with Man City likely to be Madrid's biggest rivals for the player's signature.

An issue with this one will be wages, as Mundo Deportivo reports that his transfer fee plus salary will cost the club €350m.

Kylian Mbappe

The future of Mbappe has been a saga for a while now. Will he or won't he leave Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid?

The World Cup winner is out of contract in June, and it has seemed almost certain for over a year now that he would eventually sign for Madrid in the summer of 2022.

On transfer deadline day last summer, Real Madrid tabled an outrageous €200m bid for Mbappe in full knowledge they could sign him for free a year later. Paris Saint-Germain didn't even bother to respond to the bid, and negotiations never happened.

He remains one of the most expensive players in history, having joined PSG from Monaco for a cool €140m.

This one appears to be a foregone conclusion, but can Real Madrid afford both Haaland and Mbappe?