Real Madrid makes room for Mbappé. The full-back is to give the Frenchman his number and a place in the squad

Expensive arrivals often mean some departures. Real Madrid have been preparing for the arrival of Kylian Mbappé for several transfer seasons in advance, yet there is probably one more departure to come. Álvaro Odriozola is expected to head to Fiorentina.

Real Madrid are in the peak stages of negotiations for Kylian Mbappe. At the moment, the debate is no longer about whether he will come, but whether he will arrive this week for 160 million euros or next year completely for free.

The management of Los Blancos is doing everything possible to complete the arrival of the Frenchman this summer, the royal club has created the ideal conditions to do so. He has not spent a single euro in four transfer periods, on the contrary, he has made a fortune on player sales. Experienced businessman Florentino Pérez has survived the coronavir crisis and can now keep the club’s accountants busy again.

La Liga, however, has strict rules, which Barcelona have recently fallen foul of. Because of the salary cap, it could not register Lionel Messi, while Real are plagued by another rule. La Liga dictates that all clubs should only have players with numbers from 1-25, so Real have to make room in the 25-man squad somewhere.

And that should be fulfilled by Álvaro Odriozola, who is likely to go on loan to Fiorentina, which should be a win-win situation for all parties. The 25-year-old right-back has Carvajal and Lucas ahead of him, he wouldn’t get much into the game anyway. Moreover, the club would free up a roster spot and more importantly a number, as Odriozola wears number 19 on his back.

A trifle at first glance, but very important in terms of marketing and player satisfaction. Mbappé’s number seven is worn by Hazard, all other “star” numbers are also occupied. At Monaco, Kylian wore number 29, but he can’t wear that in La Liga because of the aforementioned rule.

That would leave him with number 13, which might not be very attractive for him or the club’s marketing. Mbappé’s number 19 fits a bit more. After all, Lionel Messi also wore this number for a while at Barcelona.

Source: Marca