Diego Maradona was one of the greatest footballers to have ever lived. For some, he ranks even higher than the likes of Lionel Messi, Pele, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The iconic Argentine led his nation to World Cup glory in 1986, and also won Serie A twice with Napoli, as well as winning major honours with Boca Juniors and Barcelona. Truthfully, though, his impact on football cannot be measured by trophies – it was something more fantastical than simple statistics.
With that in mind, whenever Maradona spoke about the beautiful game, it was always wise to pay attention. In 2017, he eyed up one player he felt would be the next big thing in football, and urged Real Madrid to snap him up.
Maradona Urged Florentino Perez To Sell Gareth Bale
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As a former Barcelona player, some may be surprised to hear Maradona talking about which players rivals Real Madrid should buy. Evidently, though, he had some kind of relationship with club president Florentino Perez.
The two met at a FIFA event in 2017 – roughly three years before Maradona's death – and the Argentine could not help but sing the praises of Kylian Mbappe. He was so impressed by the then-teenager, he even claimed the Spanish giants should offload Gareth Bale to make way for the French winger:
"Mbappe, for me he is the big revelation in football. I think he can surpass many players. And why did [Perez] not sign him? I told him! It was when we saw each other at FIFA.
"He said to me, '[but] you know I have Cristiano'."
"Sell Bale, give Bale away. He will surely be a makeweight for something, and Florentino will be left with half of Madrid or half of Italy and Bale will play for AC Milan or Inter.
"But I think they have to buy Mbappe."
Mbappe Has Had Incredible Career Since
At the time, Mbappe would have still been in his teens, but Maradona was clearly dazzled by the young winger. He scored an impressive 27 goals and picked up 16 assists in 60 games for AS Monaco before all the big clubs came swooping.
Around the same time as Maradona urged Madrid to make their move, French giants Paris Saint-Germain flexed their financial muscles and announced the signing of Mbappe from Monaco on loan with a mandatory purchase option of €180m. The youngster would be a massive hit, bagging 256 goals and claiming a further 110 assists in 308 games, while also getting his hands on six Ligue 1 titles.
All the while Bale fell further and further out of favour in Madrid. Admittedly, he impressed in 2017/18, scoring that iconic bicycle kick in the Champions League final, but his influence on the team steadily faded. By 2019, he was as good as unwanted under Zinedine Zidane and ended up on loan at Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 before his eventual exit in 2022.
Even Ronaldo didn't spend much longer at Real Madrid, leaving in 2018, not long after Perez had argued that he couldn't sign Mbappe with the Portuguese forward in the team already. While they wouldn't land the Frenchman in the short term, he did eventually make his way to Madrid.
After years of repeated rumours, Los Blancos announced that they'd finally landed their man in June 2024, with the winger signing a five-year contract. While he's yet to win La Liga or Champions League with the Spanish outfit, goals have not been an issue and major trophies in that bracket seem inevitable.
Mbappe's Career Stats
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Maradona was certainly right to highlight Mbappe as a player with the potential to become one of the best in the world in 2017, and the Argentine would have witnessed the crowning moment of his career so far, in which he scored twice as France won the 2018 World Cup.
Still only 26 years old, Mbappe has become the youngest ever footballer to score 400 goals for club and country, setting the record earlier in 2025. His career has been so special already, and you get the sense that even more great achievements are on the horizon.
Stats via Transfermarkt – as of 20/11/25