Not a day goes by without a new rumor surrounding the future of Kylian Mbappé. The epilogue of the soap opera is now close and, for franceinfo: sport, Virgile Caillet has agreed to analyze the marketing aspect of the possible departure of the French striker. For this specialist in sport business, the final choice of the player will be only “guided by the construction of his career”.
Franceinfo: sport: What marketing impact would the transfer of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid have?
Virgil Caillet: On a purely marketing level, that is to say its ability to attract partner brands, there is, for me, no difference in the very short term between signing for Real Madrid or staying at PSG. Mbappé is already an international “brand”, he already has handpicked partners who stick with his image as a young, uninhibited, citizen of the world. So whether he’s in Paris or Madrid, it won’t really change the situation. It’s not going to boost its marketing value, because it’s already global in scope.
What can still allow him to enter a higher dimension is to go down in history by becoming the first to win the Champions League with PSG. If he goes to Real and wins it will be great, but Zidane, Benzema, Varane or others will have done it before him. This criterion may have entered into Mbappé’s thinking. The financial stakes are enormous but I think that is not what will make the difference because the proposals of the two camps are, however, stratospheric. What will guide his choice is the construction of his career: does he come to win the Champions League with Real, where others will have done it before him, or does he want to score even more history by accompanying PSG on the roof of Europe?
The only real marketing issue for Kylian Mbappé is now not to pollute his image. There is a kind of confusion between his extremely virtuous positioning with a desire to choose irreproachable partners from an ethical and ecological point of view and, on the other hand, we see him flying back and forth in Madrid… He there is a kind of confusion of the message and Mbappé should not get lost in it, even if I am convinced that he is perfectly well surrounded.
How to solve the problems of image rights at Real, which only grants 50% to the players while in Paris the latter have total control?
For a player like Mbappé who is in the process of building his international image, when he is only 23 years old, it is important to master his communication. We also saw it during the controversy in the France team when he refused to participate in the commercial operations of the Blues. However, at Real, the institution is indisputably stronger than the players. This club makes them grow, it brings them a prize list, but it remains above them. It is also, for many, the weak point of PSG which has difficulty placing the institution before the power of the players.
What more can Real bring to Mbappé in the media and, conversely, what would be the consequences for PSG if the player leaves?
His transfer to Real would seal the consecration of his international dimension. Today Mbappé is known worldwide but he plays in France. Signing for Madrid would be the culmination of the Mbappé ‘brand’.
For Paris, on the other hand, it would obviously be a setback. Anyway, at first. It would be clumsy to draw hasty conclusions by saying that it is a disaster for the French club. For the past few months, it has been obvious that Paris has been working on B plans to replace its star and to breathe new life into it. On a marketing level, Mbappé’s departure could be the first chapter of a new narrative.
The fact remains that Mbappé obviously remains a bestseller in the sale of derivative products and that it is not easily replaced. If he leaves, the Parisian leaders will have to, whatever happens, carry out an XXL recruitment to compensate for the loss. But with Messi and Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain is not naked and retains a capacity for attractiveness.