Mbappé to snub Madrid for Barça? Why reports aren’t all they seem،
Spanish football fans were stunned on Thursday by sports daily Mundo Deportivo's sensational report that Real Madrid have pulled out of the race to sign long-term transfer target Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé now being in contention to join their bitter LaLiga. rivals Barcelona in the summer.
The story, titled “Radical turning point: Mbappé moves closer to Barça”, will have difficulty believing Madrid supporters. Barcelona followers, meanwhile, would have found the news that the club had picked him as a world-class signing to celebrate its 125th anniversary next year almost too good to be true.
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According to the Catalan newspaper, Barça are ready to use the billion euros the club should receive as a founding member of the European Super League to lure Mbappé to the Camp Nou as part of a plan dubbed “Operation Donatello”. This title refers to the nickname that his PSG teammates would have given to the French striker, due to his apparent resemblance to the Ninja Turtles character.
😲 Radical Giro: Mbappé heading to Barçahttps://t.co/iW6SYtCp8x
– Monde Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) December 28, 2023
A few weeks ago, the report continues, Barca president Joan Laporta and his Real Madrid counterpart Florentino Perez had a secret meeting and reached an agreement. As part of the deal, Barça would give their unconditional support to Pérez regarding the separatist Super League project, and in exchange Madrid would not only withdraw their interest in Mbappé but also recommend that the 25-year-old's entourage sign for the Barca. The only demand imposed by Pérez during this meeting was that Mbappé not be able to use his right foot stronger when playing against Madrid in The classic.
Mundo Deportivo also writes that former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, now in charge of PSG, also recommended Mbappé to join Barça as the local media are very friendly. Additionally, Mbappé would have no problem settling in since his PSG teammate Ousmane Dembélé is willing to lend him his house in the city and allow him to play his video game collection. Another added benefit of Mbappé's move to Barca is that the player would benefit from a lifetime subscription to Spotify, the striker's music streaming platform of choice which also sponsors the Catalan club.
For anyone in Spain reading these details and feeling a little skeptical, a glance at the calendar would assure them that this is not a story to be taken seriously. This is because December 28 is “The Dia of Los Inocentes” (The Day of the Holy Innocents), which is essentially the equivalent of April Fool's Day in much of the Spanish-speaking world – a day to revel in the simple joy of pranks, jokes and jokes. People of Mundo Deportivo sports desk decided to get in on the action with this story, which undoubtedly got the hearts of its readership racing.
They did something very similar two years ago, when it was reported that Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo was so desperate to end his second stint at Manchester United and return to La Liga that he had secretly offered his services to Barcelona. Yet if Mundo Deportivo had reported at the time that in just over a year Ronaldo would be playing in Saudi Arabia, it would also have been easy to dismiss that as fake news.
⚠ ¡Cristiano Ronaldo is offered to Barça!
👉 The Portuguese are not enthusiastic in Manchester and have been contacted by Xavi with Piqué, while Jorge Mendes negotiated with Laportahttps://t.co/CeqL40yBcd pic.twitter.com/fnYuwYPZlt
– Monde Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) December 28, 2021
In 2020, fans of Leganés, a Spanish second division club, learned that the club's giant cucumber-shaped mascot, “Super Pepino”, would be leaving after his “release clause” was triggered by a La Liga club without name.
💰 CLAUSULAZO I El CD Leganés is what it is without 'Super Pepino'
🤷♂️ We do not yet know the identity of the club which deposited the payment in the oficinas of @The league
😒 CD Leganés cannot leave another mascot until the next one. temporary
All the details 👇https://t.co/WOJj4ZizgB pic.twitter.com/xi4ZlxlsIw
– CD Leganés (@CDLeganes) December 28, 2020
The hoax was a not-so-subtle nod to the controversial departure of Martin Braithwaite, who was allowed to join Barcelona on an emergency basis in February 2020, leaving Leganes unable to sign a replacement as they headed towards relegation.
🤝 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Agreement with @ManCity on the loan of @Martinio98 #AurreraReala ⬇https://t.co/6AJrVNfOic
— Real Sociedad 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 (@RealSociedadEN) December 28, 2019
While in 2019, the most notable innocent led to Manchester City fans reading the shock announcement in an official Real Sociedad statement that their club had signed Martin Ødegaard on loan, even though the Norwegian midfielder was in fact already at The Real at the time he was on loan from Real Madrid.
“We are forced to make this difficult decision in order to avoid possible media commentary over the next six months,” read a club press release, before revealing the match by adding: “What a relief!”
