June 2024 will forever be remembered fondly by Real Madrid fans.
On the first day of the month, they became champions of Europe for a record-extending 15th time, defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
As winners of La Liga and Europe's top club competition, this was already a season to celebrate for fans of Los Blancos around the world. The fact they then completed the signing of the world's most coveted footballer was quite the cherry on the cake.
At long, long last, Kylian Mbappe is a Real Madrid player. Having confirmed he would leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract this year, it has long been anticipated that the France star would sign for the team he nearly joined two years ago. Now, the deal has been concluded.
The Sporting News runs through the key details of one of the most significant "free" transfers in history.
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Kylian Mbappe signs for Real Madrid: Contract, salary for Los Blancos
On June 3, Real Madrid announced that they had signed Kylian Mbappe on a five-year contract. Officially, it's a free transfer: the forward was a free agent following the expiry of his PSG contract.
Of course, this deal still comes at a huge expense for the 15-time kings of Europe. According to BBC Sport, Mbappe's Madrid contract is worth €15 million net per season, which works out at roughly €288,000 per week.
That's a sizeable drop-off from his PSG earnings, but it's understandable.
Mbappe's base salary at the French champions was reportedly €75m net per year ($82.8m / £64.4m), excluding bonuses. According to reports upon the signing of his new contract in 2022, including from the New York Times and The Guardian, Mbappe's new deal also earned him a €100m ($110.4m / £85.9m) signing bonus just for agreeing to stay at the club.
Madrid were never likely to get close to matching a weekly wage of more than €1.3m — indeed, given financial rules imposed by both UEFA and La Liga, they would not be able to — but it is believed that some of the shortfall in his new Madrid salary will be compensated for by a huge signing fee of around €150 million, which will be payable over the duration of his deal.
What is Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid jersey number?
Mbappe will wear the No. 9 jersey at Real Madrid.
At PSG, he wore the No. 7, and he would likely want to wear the same in Spain to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of his idols. However, Vinicius Junior occupies that jersey, and it always seemed very unlikely the club will ask him to give it up.
There was no incumbent No. 9 at Madrid, so it seemed a simple enough choice.
When will Kylian Mbappe make his Real Madrid debut?
Mbappe's next duty is Euro 2024 with France, where he will attempt to win the trophy for the first time.
His debut game for Real Madrid will come during preseason. At the moment, their first friendly match is due to be against AC Milan at Soldier Field, Chicago, on July 31. Madrid would likely want Mbappe to be available for that opening preseason tour fixture.
His first competitive game for his new club is likely to be the UEFA Super Cup: Madrid will face Europa League winners Atalanta in Warsaw, Poland on August 14.
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Kylian Mbappe stats for PSG
Mbappe, who signed for PSG from Monaco in a deal worth €180m in 2017, became the Ligue 1 side's record goalscorer during his seven years in Paris.
In six of his seven seasons, he scored at least 30 goals in all competitions.
Here's a look at his goal-scoring total during his time at the Parc des Princes:
| Season | Matches | Goals |
| 2017/18 | 44 | 21 |
| 2018/19 | 43 | 39 |
| 2019/20 | 37 | 30 |
| 2020/21 | 47 | 42 |
| 2021/22 | 46 | 49 |
| 2022/23 | 43 | 41 |
| 2023/24 | 48 | 44 |
| 308 | 266 |
