"It touched my heart" - Kylian Mbappe thanks Cristiano Ronaldo and other past and present Real Madrid players for warm welcome
New Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has thanked Los Blancos players - past and present - like Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas. The club announced the Frenchman's arrival earlier this week.
Mbappe has arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu following seven prolific seasons with PSG - scoring 256 goals - a record tally for the club. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner was warmly welcomed by club legends like Ronaldo and Casillas.
Ronaldo commented on Mbappe's Instagram post:
"My turn to �� Excited to see you light up the Bernabéu. ⚽️�� #HalaMadrid"
Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois, current Los Blancos goalkeeper posted (as translated from French):
"Welcome to your new home."
Mbappe has now responded to the stream of well wishes from Los Blancos players, past and present. He said (as per Madrid Zone):
"I saw messages from my idols, CR7, Ramos, Casillas, my future teammates, everyone, it touched my heart. Thanks to all of them."
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner is coming off a fabulous 44-goal season in what turned out to be his final campaign at the Parc des Princes. He helped the club to the Ligue 1, Trophee des Champions and Coupe de France titles.
However, Luis Enrique's side fell to Borussia Dortmund, home and away, 1-0 on aggregate in the semifinals.
Will Kylian Mbappe emulate Cristiano Ronaldo's exploits at Real Madrid?
Kylian Mbappe has a lot of work to do if he wishes to emulate the exploits of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid. In 438 games across competitions across nine seasons, the 39-year-old scored a staggering 450 goals.
He also won four of his five UEFA Champions League titles with the club and four of his five Ballon d'Or awards as well. Among his many records at the La Liga giants, Ronaldo is the first to breach the 40-goal mark in La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also created a slew of records in the UEFA Champions League while at the club, like most goals in a season (17), first to score 100 goals in the competition and first to score that many Champions League goals for a single club.