Kylian Mbappé will wear the No. 10 jersey at Real Madrid next season, switching from the No. 9 he wore in his debut campaign with the club, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The No. 10 is available following the exit of Luka Modric, who joined AC Milan following the end of his 13-year stay at the Bernabeu.
Mbappé also wears No. 10 with the France national team and a source told ESPN that it had always been the plan for him for him to take that number at Madrid once it was available. Mbappé, though, was prepared to spend another season with No. 9 if Modric had extended his contract for another year, a source added.
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Mbappé had an impressive individual season with Madrid following his long-awaited move from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
The 26-year-old scored 31 goals in LaLiga to finish as the competition’s top scorer. He also eclipsed the 33 goals Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his debut Real Madrid season across all competitions.
Four of those goals came in finals: the 2-0 win over Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup, the 3-0 victory over Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, as well as the defeats to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercopa.
However, Mbappé still faced criticism from some quarters as Madrid failed to win a major trophy — having also finished second behind Barcelona in LaLiga and losing to Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Mbappé struggled to make an impact at the recently completed Club World Cup in the United States after being hospitalised with acute gastroenteritis that kept him out of action in the group stage.
While he returned in the knockout rounds, Madrid’s participation was ended with a chastening 4-0 loss to Mbappé’s former club PSG in the semifinals.
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