Kylian Mbappé's first words as a Real Madrid player: “I feel free”

“Before starting this press conference, I just wanted to say a few words. Everyone knows the news, it’s official, I’m going to be a Real Madrid player for at least the next five seasons”.

These were the first public words of Kylian Mbappé after it was confirmed by the LaLiga club that they had signed the forward. “Real Madrid C.F. and Kylian Mbappé have reached an agreement under which he will become a Real Madrid player for the next five seasons”, was the short but sweet announcement from the club; luckily, Kylian himself had a little more to say.

Mbappé said that he felt an “immense pleasure” to join Madrid, and that moving to the 15-time European champions was “a dream come true”.

Mbappé ‘very happy, free, relieved and extremely proud’

On the day of the announcement, Mbappé tweeted “A dream come true. Very happy and proud to be part of my dream club @realmadrid. It is impossible to explain how happy and excited I feel right now. I can’t wait to see you, Madridistas, and thank you for your incredible support. Hala Madrid!”

Back to his press conference: the forward, between smiles, repeated the words “very exciting” while adding that he felt “very happy, free, relieved and extremely proud” to be joining Los Blancos.

“This is the club I have always dreamed of being at, so I want to thank them. I’m very excited about the idea of going to this great club, the best in the world” he added.

“I am very humbled by the prospect and I would like to thank all the people who have sent me messages and everyone who has contributed to this deal, as well as Florentino Perez, who has supported me from the very beginning.”

Before answering the questions burning on the lips of the journalists in front of him, Mbappé made one thing clear: “It’s a great day for me. But I have to get back to more rational things. I have responsibilities as captain of the French team and that has overshadowed the national team.”

“I know it’s not fair to the journalists, nor to you, but I will only answer questions about the national team. I want to protect my team because we have a big summer ahead of us and it’s been a long time since we won. While he didn’t directly mention Real Madrid, he did add that “I think a happy man has more chances to play well than an unhappy man”.