Real Madrid are the deserved champions of Europe, but they could get even better next season.
Los Blancos announced the sensational signing of Kylian Mbappe on Monday as he departs Paris Saint-Germain.
The forward, a World Cup winner with France and seven-time Ligue 1 champion, is regarded as one of the best players in world football even though he’s never won the Champions League.
He joins the reigning champions’ squad that boasts some of the best talent in Europe, including Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr.
With Madrid’s new blockbuster signing made official soon, talkSPORT.com has looked at how they could line up next season.
Thibaut Courtois, a three-time LaLiga winner, is likely to return as the starting goalkeeper having missed most of the 2023/24 campaign through an ACL injury.
He started in the Champions League final over Andriy Lunin and Kepa Arrizabalaga, with the latter set to return to Chelsea this summer at the end of his loan spell.
At centre-back, both Eder Militao and David Alaba also suffered ACL injuries this season, with the former returning in March and the latter not playing since December.
Militao, who has won ten trophies in five years at Madrid, could therefore claim a starting spot alongside Antonio Rudiger, the former Chelsea man who kept 22 clean sheets this season.
Ferland Mendy has regularly been named as their left-back since he joined from Lyon in 2019, contributing to much of their domestic and European success.
Having scored the opener in their Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund, the long-serving Dani Carvajal is set to remain at right-back.
The Spaniard has been at Madrid since 2013 and has made 416 appearances for the club, winning four LaLiga titles and six European crowns amongst other honours.
Although Toni Kroos recently announced his retirement Madrid still have plenty of midfield options, with Federico Valverde missing just one game this season.
He could be poised to play alongside the talented 21-year-old Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga, with club legend and veteran Luka Modric and Aurelien Tchouameni also worthy options.
Attacking midfielder Bellingham is highly likely to play in front of them off the back of an incredible debut season.
The England star scored 23 goals and assisted a further 13 across all competitions in their treble-winning campaign, in which he made 42 appearances.
On the left of Madrid’s front three could be Vinicius Jr, who scored their second goal in the Champions League final.
It took his tally to 24 for the season and like Bellingham, the Brazilian has been touted as a contender for this year’s illustrious Ballon d’Or award.
The versatile Rodrygo has proven an effective teammate alongside his countryman in the attack and he looks set to shift into his popular position out on the right wing.
And leading the line for Madrid is set to be Mbappe, with the 25-year-old arriving as their latest ‘Galactico’ signing.
Having scored 256 goals in 308 appearances for PSG, the Frenchman is one of the most clinical finishers in world football and could be an ideal role model for 17-year-old Endrick, who also arrives this summer.
Mbappe will surely take the team to the next level and feature in a side that could dominate Europe for the years to come.
Speaking to talkSPORT, European football expert Andy Brassell echoed this sentiment: “It does just give us that feeling that maybe this is the point where Real Madrid start to build a dynasty in Europe.
“They’ve got a team that was kind of in semi-transition this season, where Bellingham has had a much better season than anyone could have reasonably expected.
“A lot of their other players have done likewise but in this, in inverted commas ‘transition season’, they’ve won LaLiga by losing one game all season, they’ve won the Champions League and they’ve won the [Spanish] Super Cup, it’s extraordinary.
“So you do think with him and Endrick arriving from Brazil of course, they’re in an incredible position of strength.”
