Kylian Mbappé, one more Frenchman in the long tradition of the French of Real Madrid

From Raymond Kopa to Aurélien Tchouaméni, via Zinédine Zidane or Karim Benzema, the name “KM9” is added to the list of these French players who have marked the history of the Madrid club.

This is the end of a long series. The announcement was made on Monday June 3 evening, at 7:30 p.m. precisely, by the Spanish club: Kylian Mbappé is now a Real Madrid player. The French star signed for five years with the Madrid club. And he is actually one more player in the long tradition of the French Real.

In total, no less than 19 French players wore the famous white jersey of the Madrid club. Among them, many football legends: Raymond Kopa, Zinédine Zidane and Nicolas Anelka, who played a single season there between 1999 and 2000. First there were the pioneers, like René Petit (between 1914 and 1917). ), very first Frenchman signed to Real Madrid, but also Jean Luciano (1950 – 1951), Louis Hon (1950 – 1953) and Lucien Muller (1962 – 1965).

Raymond Kopa

But the first French star at Real was obviously Raymond Kopa, between 1956 and 1959. The player is renowned “kopita” by Madrid fans because of his small size, but it was a great victory in 1957, when he became the first Frenchman to win the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. The following year, in 1958, he lifted the Ballon d’Or trophy, again a first for a French footballer.

Zinedine Zidane

Alongside Puskas and di Stefano, Kopa won the Champion Clubs’ Cup three times in three years with Real. One less than another French legend from Madrid: Zinédine Zidane, who lifted the Champions League four times. Three times as a coach, and only once as a player, in 2002, against Bayer Leverkusen, thanks to a “Zidanesque” goal. Like father, like sons: Enzo Zidane, the eldest, just like Luca Zidane, the youngest, have both already briefly worn the colors of the Madrid club.

Many other French players have distinguished themselves within the Spanish club such as Claude Makélélé (2000 – 2003; 150 matches), Lassana Diarra (2009 – 2012; 117 matches), Raphaël Varane (2011 – 2021; 360 matches), Théo Hernandez ( 2017 – 2019), or even Alphonse Areola (2019 – 2020).

Karim Benzema

But the Frenchman who has the longest track record with Real is Karim Benzema, including five Champions League titles. The last one was in 2022, which also earned him the Ballon d’Or given to him by Zidane. In total, Karim Benzema played 14 seasons with the club and he is the most capped foreign footballer in Real’s history, with 648 matches.

If Karim Benzema is no longer there, Kylian Mbappé will not be the only Frenchman: with Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ferland Mendy, there will be at least four French people to wear the Real jersey next season.