Real Madrid News
Kylian Mbappe wanted Real Madrid midfielder to join him at PSG – report
Diario ABC (h/t Madrid Xtra) has reported that Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe wanted Aurelien Tchouameni to join him at the club, but the latter only wanted to move to Real Madrid.
Tchouameni, 22, moved to Real Madrid in June 2022 from Ligue 1 side Monaco for a fee reported to be around €80 million. Signing a six-year contract with the capital club, the price tag could rise to €100 million if certain criteria are met.
Ahead of his move to Madrid, the 22-year-old midfielder was arguably the most in-demand player across Europe, with Cesc Fabregas claiming that he recommended the Frenchman to Barcelona, while Liverpool were also interested.
The story, however, could have been very different if Tchouameni had listened to his national teammate Kylian Mbappe. As quoted by the aforementioned outlet, the PSG star admires Tchouameni a lot.
In fact, the two are actually very good friends and share a great relationship within the national team camp and Mbappe wanted the midfielder to move to PSG before joining Real Madrid.
However, as it turned out, the 22-year-old was only focused on Real Madrid and ended up securing a move to the Santiago Bernabeu
A few months into his Real Madrid tenure and Tchouameni has turned out to be a fantastic signing, to say the least. Taking over as the club’s primary holding midfielder following Casemiro’s exit, the Frenchman has done a sterling job in the centre of the park.
He is also putting in solid shifts one after the other for the French national team, helping them reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
It must be remembered that Mbappe himself was linked heavily with a move to Real Madrid in the summer before he made a dramatic U-turn and renewed his contract with PSG. If not, he and Tchouameni could have shared the dressing room at the Bernabeu.
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
