Kylian Mbappe was on the cusp of a move to Real Madrid but PSG turned down all offers put forward by the Whites. So the Frenchman ended up staying in Paris. It's likely he'll join the Whites next summer as a free agent.
But what is especially interesting is how Madrid would have lined up had Mbappe signed for the club in the summer of 2021.
According to journalist Mario Cortegana (h/t MadridXtra on Twitter), Carlo Ancelotti planned for his transfer and had a particular formation in mind to see Mbappe and Benzema play together.
The head coach wanted to make a tactical switch from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Vinicius and Valverde would have played as wide midfielders. A midfield triumvirate of Kroos, Casemiro and Modric would have shrunk to a Kroos–Casemiro duo.
This is how Madrid's starting XI would have looked like:
