Cristiano Ronaldo leads Kylian Mbappé's Real Madrid welcome

Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo and many team stars  welcomed Kylian Mbappe to the club after  the club agreed to a five-year contract. Madrid finally announced the signing of Mbappe on Monday, bringing to an end  one of the longest-running and most high-profile transfer dramas in football. - Streaming on ESPN+: La Liga, Bundesliga and More (US) Mbappe described the move as a "dream come true" on his Instagram account, saying "No one can understand how excited I am right now" alongside a photo of him in a Madrid uniform during a trial with the club as a youth player.

 

A photo of him with then-Madrid star Ronaldo. Ronaldo, 39, Madrid's all-time leading scorer, responded to Mbappe's post, saying, "Now it's my turn to make you shine at the Bernabeu.

 

HalaMadrid" Mbappe joins a Madrid team that is already reigning Spanish and European champions after completing the double by winning La Liga by 10 points last season and beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Saturday's Champions League final.  Sources told ESPN that Mbappe will earn 15 million euros a year after tax at Madrid, with a signing-on bonus of 150 million euros (about $16.2 million) payable over the life of his contract.

 

Several of Mbappe's new Madrid teammates took to social media to welcome his arrival. Ahead of Madrid's official announcement of the signing on Monday, Vinicius Jonnior posted a "clock" emoji in anticipation of the news.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois wrote in French, "Welcome to your new home."

 

France teammate Eduardo Camavinga shared a photo of Mbappe with him on international duty, while midfielder Aurélien Choumeni posted, "Welcome back brother!" Even Brazilian striker Rodrigo Goes, who could see his place in Madrid's starting line-up threatened by Mbappe's arrival, seemed pleased with the signing of the France star, posting a series of heart  emojis.

 

Mbappe is on  duty with France's national team ahead of this summer's European Championships. Madrid are yet to say when he will be unveiled at the Bernabeu, but it is expected to happen after his time in France ends.