Real Madrid News
Real Madrid preparing opening offer for Florentino Perez’s Galactico target – report
Real Madrid’s pursuit of Michael Olise could soon enter a decisive phase, with fresh reports claiming the Spanish giants are preparing to make their opening move for the Bayern Munich winger.
The latest Real Madrid transfer news suggests Florentino Perez remains determined to bring the France Galactico to the Santiago Bernabeu despite Bayern’s insistence that the player is not for sale.
Now, according to L’Equipe (h/t Madrid Xtra), Real Madrid are expected to launch their first bid for Olise imminently.
Real Madrid preparing first offer for Michael Olise
Real Madrid’s interest in Olise has been building for weeks, and reports continue to link the 24-year-old with a move to Santiago Bernabeu.
The latest update claims Bayern Munich are aware that the situation requires careful handling after Olise requested a meeting with the club’s hierarchy to discuss his future and his role within the squad.
At the same time, Bayern are said to be working on a new long-term contract that would significantly improve both his salary and his standing within the team.
While reports have suggested Olise favours a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid have publicly distanced themselves from the speculation in recent days.
Even so, it appears that the club is preparing an opening offer, indicating the situation may be developing behind the scenes.
Bayern Munich determined to keep Olise
Despite growing transfer speculation, Bayern Munich continue to maintain that Olise is a central part of their project.
The Bundesliga champions are prepared to reward the winger with improved contractual terms in an attempt to convince him to extend his stay.
As far as Real Madrid are concerned, it is known that any transfer for Michael Olise will require an extraordinary financial commitment.
As reported before, Bayern would only consider offers approaching record-breaking territory, with figures close to the €221 million Paris Saint-Germain paid to sign Neymar from Barcelona being mentioned as a benchmark.
Although it is unlikely that Real Madrid’s opening offer would be of that magnitude, the bid alone would be the beginning of a long negotiation.
Kylian Mbappe’s blistering start to the season has already hit its first bump, with the Real Madrid forward’s missed penalty against Real Betis exposing an area of his game that has historically been less reliable.
Mbappe had given Madrid fans plenty of reasons for optimism in the opening weeks.
He scored a hat-trick against Real Sociedad before finding the net again against Malaga, making it four goals across his first three matches of the season.
The performance against Betis, though, was a different story.
Mbappe struggled to make the same impact and then missed an injury-time penalty, with Alvaro Valles making the save as Madrid eventually suffered a 0-1 defeat.
Mbappe’s penalty numbers make uncomfortable reading
Mbappe’s latest miss adds to a record that is far from elite when compared with some of Real Madrid’s previous specialists.
Including the Betis penalty, Mbappe has now missed 16 of the 81 penalties he has taken during his career, excluding shoot-outs. That represents a failure rate of 19.7%.
His numbers with Real Madrid are even less convincing, having converted 19 of 24 penalties for the club, meaning his miss rate stands at 20.8%, effectively one missed penalty in every five attempts.
Mbappe’s record compared with Madrid legends
The comparison with Real Madrid’s previous penalty takers provides better context.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed only 13 of his 92 penalties, giving him a miss rate of 14.1%. Sergio Ramos was considerably more dependable, missing just one of his 23 attempts, which is a rate of 4.3%.
All three sets of figures exclude penalty shoot-outs, making the comparison more relevant to normal match situations.
Mbappe therefore has work to do if he is to reach the level of reliability expected from a team’s primary penalty taker.
Sure, his overall goalscoring numbers remain outstanding, but penalties are an important part of that production.
Mourinho should keep faith with Mbappe
Meanwhile, there is little reason for Jose Mourinho or the Real Madrid dressing room to lose confidence in Mbappe because of one miss on matchday four.
His opening performances, particularly the hat-trick against Real Sociedad, provide ample evidence of his quality, and the greater concern may be psychological rather than tactical.
Mbappe’s confidence from the spot will be worth watching, especially because of what he is chasing this season.
The Ballon d’Or, Pichichi and Golden Boot are all among his ambitions, and penalties offer a valuable route towards the goals required for those prizes.
