REAL MADRID
When will Kylian Mbappé play his first game with Real Madrid and when will he start training?
The French forward is presented to the Madridista faithful on Tuesday, following which the business on the pitch will begin.
The momentous week for Kylian Mbappé as a new Real Madrid player has finally arrived. The Frenchman, presented on Tuesday, July 16, as the new addition to the team after seven years of anticipation, with hopes that over the next five years, he will aspire to win the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or. But there is plenty time for that.
First, there will be his presentation, reminiscent of other galácticos such as Kaká, Cristiano, and Benzema back in 2009, or Hazard, who drew 50,000 Real Madrid supporters. This presentation marks a departure from those at the beginning of the century when Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, and Beckham were introduced at the old Real Madrid Sports City.
After Tuesday’s grand event, Mbappé will continue with his vacation as he does not need to be with the Madrid squad until August 6. This is the date set by the technical staff for all players who reached the semifinals or finals of the European Championships and the Copa América to have their rest period. On that day, Carvajal and Bellingham (Euro 24 finalists), Camavinga, Mbappé, Mendy, Tchouameni (Euro 24 semifinalists) and Valverde (Copa América semifinalist) are scheduled to report to Valdebebas.
Meanwhile, the rest of Madrid’s squad will be playing their final match of the American preseason tour (against Chelsea at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte). The aforementioned seven players will begin their preseason training at the Valdebebas facilities, kicking off a campaign in which Los Blancos could play up to 72 matches across all competitions.
Real Madrid’s first official game of 2024/25
Just a week later, on Wednesday, August 14, Real Madrid will play their first official match of the season: the UEFA Super Cup final against Atalanta in Warsaw. By then, Mbappé, along with those six teammates, will have undergone double training sessions to get closer to the physical condition of the rest of the squad.
This will likely be his debut match in the Real Madrid jersey, and he has a precedent to look to. In the 2014 UEFA Super Cup, Kroos played against Sevilla after only a couple of training sessions following the World Cup in Brazil, where he was crowned champion on July 14.
Real Madrid’s first LaLiga game of 2024/25
In LaLiga, Mbappé will make his debut at Son Moix Stadium against Mallorca – check out Madrid’s full schedule – the same venue where another French galáctico, Nicolas Anelka, made his debut during the 1999-2000 season. In that match, Madrid secured a last-minute victory thanks to goals from Raúl and Morientes. Another notable debut at the island stadium was by David Beckham, but his was in a Spanish Super Cup match, where Mallorca won the first leg (2-1) against Madrid. In the return leg, Real Madrid convincingly won (3-0).
José Mourinho also made his debut as Madrid’s coach at the Mallorca venue in 2010, accompanied by new signings such as Özil, Khedira, Di María, and Ricardo Carvalho.