- New Real Madrid signing has spent eight-figure sum to acquire majority stake in club
- He is now the youngest club owner in European football
- Mbappe is one of several football stars to buy a club
Real Madrid and France superstar Kylian Mbappe has celebrated his move to Spain by splashing out on buying his own football club.
Mbappe has spent €20 million ($21.6 million) to secure a majority stake in French second division side Caen.
The deal means that 25-year-old Mbappe is the youngest club owner in European football.
While the price tag might be high, Mbappe can more than afford it. He is reported to be earning $16 million per year at Real Madrid – and took a pay cut to join them from Paris St-Germain. His signing-on fee for joining Los Blancos was reportedly more than $108 million.
Mbappe has history with Caen. He nearly joined the club when he was a youngster – his family saw the club as a healthy environment for him – but the deal collapsed when Caen were relegated from Ligue Un, the top flight of football in France.
Caen have been in the French second division since 2019, but now with a superstar at the helm, it will be hoped his can provide an injection of cash and publicity to help the club back into Ligue Un.
Mbappe is not the first football star to buy a football club. Didier Drogba became player-owner of USL side Phoenix Rising in 2017, while Spanish legend Gerard Pique owns FC Andorra, which plays in the third tier of the Spanish League. In England, Salford City of League 2 is owned by former Manchester United stars including Gary Neville, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.
