Kylian Mbappe presentation LIVE: France striker unveiled as new Real Madrid star

Mbappe addressed the French people during a pre-match press conference following Emmanuel Macron’s shock announcement to call a snap parliamentary election. Macron suffered heavy defeats by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (NR) party in last week’s European Union vote.

With opinion polls suggesting the far-right NR party could top the 30 June and 7 July vote, Mbappe, 25, backed forward Marcus Thuram’s call to “fight daily” to prevent the RN from gaining power. Uefa has rules against teams or players making political statement, but Mbappe did not rule that out.

Much like Euro 2020, it ended with Kylian Mbappe in front of goal, with the kind of chance he would usually take. Three years ago, it was a penalty, saved by Yann Sommer. In Euro 2024, it was a shot, in Mbappe’s favoured inside-left channel, following the kind of electric surge he has mustered too rarely this tournament. But he cleared the crossbar and, a few minutes later, Spain were in the final.

France’s tournament has revolved around Mbappe; perhaps they all do. But it came down also to Lamine Yamal’s left foot, to a moment of individual flair that France football did not muster in their six games, and Kevin Danso’s shoulder. Mbappe’s collision with it meant he spent much of Euro 2024 in a mask, with a broken nose and broken dreams to show for a first competition as captain.

The fans are already getting ready for Mbappe’s arrival:

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Kylian Mbappe prepares to be unveiled at Real Madrid.

Spain already have a European Championship to celebrate, and for some of those in the capital city, their Champions League-winning squad are about to receive another boost with the signing of the French captain.