After years and years, the soap opera is finally over: Kylian Mbappé will wear the shirt of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.

With the chant “1,2,3…Hala Madrid!” sung along with the entire stadium, the 25-year-old French striker emulated Cristiano Ronaldo, his idol and now friend, demonstrating that he wants to follow in the Portuguese’s footsteps wearing the white kit.

A broken nose against Austria during his debut in the Euros prevented us from seeing the best version of Mbappé in the tournament. However, with his penalty against Poland on the last day of the group stage, he managed to break his curse of never having scored in the tournament. France lost in the semi-finals to Spain, who ended up being crowned champions after beating England in Berlin.

July 16 will be marked as a fond memory for Madrid fans, all of whom went crazy at the Bernabéu. The date is the beginning of a promising path between the French striker and the Spanish team, where they will look to start a love story together, with the UEFA Super Cup his first chance to lift a trophy, but that will be up to Ancelotti.

Only the signing of the magnitude of Cristiano Ronaldo had ever filled the Santiago Bernabéu with 80,000 fans but Kylian Mbappé managed to recreate that. With improvements to the stadium and a slightly larger capacity, the French star was introduced to what will be his new home and his new fans from now on.

Mbappé ‘copied’ Cristiano during his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu, chanting the same as Ronaldo did back in 2008 and kissing the badge in the same pose. Others have also commented that he even wore the same colour shirt as Ronaldo did all those years ago, adding to the story behind his fandom.

He was my idol as a kid (Cristiano Ronaldo) and now he’s a friend, I’m lucky. He gives me a lot of advice and that’s a privilege. He always tells me to work, to stay connected to the game. It was difficult for him at the Euros, I know, but nothing changes the legend that he is,” Mbappé said during his presentation referring to the top scorer in Real Madrid’s history.

With 451 goals during the 438 matches he played wearing the Real Madrid shirt, Cristiano Ronaldo is the club’s top scorer. Mbappé will seek to make his own history, but while always trying to replicate the performances of the Portuguese, who showed his happiness as soon as the news of Kylian’s arrival was made official: “My turn to watch. Excited to see you light up the Bernabeu,” the top scorer in the history of soccer commented on social media.