Kylian Mbappe backed to lead Real Madrid to more success as legend Iker Casillas insists Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior & Co won’t flop like the iconic Galacticos side

Mbappe joins a Madrid squad that has won two of the last three Champions League titles and already features the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. Endrick will also walk through the door later in July. On the face of it, there are obvious comparisons with the Galacticos when the club boasted Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Casillas himself. But after the arrival of Ronaldo in 2002, the Galacticos generation failed to win the Champions League again and couldn’t even get past the first knockout round after 2004.

Casillas told Marca: “It’s a different era, I think people learn a bit from everything that happened there. They’re good lads, from what I see and know, and it seems to me that they have a very well-armed team. The decisions that the club has made have always been right, there’s no need to put any buts on them, quite the opposite. We’re seeing a Real Madrid that’s getting stronger and if you add Mbappe to that… I think any team would want to have this player. Let’s see, I don’t think it’s like 20 years ago with us, there was a different atmosphere in the dressing room.”

Real Madrid are already favourites to retain the Champions League in 2024-25, although Carlo Ancelotti will have to find a way to successfully incorporate Mbappe and Endrick, as well as replacing the influence of the retiring Toni Kroos.