Real Madrid : Neymar or Mbappe

Its the beginning of a new era at Real Madrid , with Zidane leaving at the end of May after winning the Champions League and Ronaldo joining he ranks of the Bianconeri . The new coach , former Spain boss Julen Lopetegui, has been chosen although the team’s star player is still to be decided.

The replacement options for them are Neymar , Mbappe and to a smaller extent , Eden Hazard .

The first option, the Brazilian forward , Neymar of whom Perez has been a long time admiere, was almost signed him as a teenager as part of Robinho’s transfer from Santos in 2005, only to lose out to Barcelona.

The Brazilian spent four trophy laden years at Barca but left the Catalan club last August in a shock switch to Paris Saint-Germain, to seemingly step out of Messi's shadow but many believed that it may have been a stepping stone towards an eventual transfer to Real Madrid.

Perez would still like to bring in the former Santos star, having missed out signing him twice in the past.

Another player under consideration by Madrid is Kylian Mbappe who will be in action for France in the World cup final against Croatia .By the looks of it, the former Monaco forward may just be the better choice for Madrid’s new-look forward line. At 19, he is already among the world’s most exciting young players and his tender age means he could star for a decade or more at Real. If not, his young age still means he would at least retain a good resale value.

Neymar, meanwhile, is already 26. The Brazilian, who shares a birthday with Ronaldo, is seven years younger. He is however showing signs that he is somewhat off the rails since swapping Barca for PSG, with reports in Paris claiming he has his own rules and does near enough what he wishes.

Even if only half of the stories are true, it is not the type of attitude that would allow him to succeed at the biggest club in the world and Madrid would be wary of his lifestyle choices.

Mbappe has no such baggage. Although the France forward appears to have picked up some gamesmanship under Neymar's tutelage , his antics are nothing like the Brazilian’s play-acting, antogonising rivals and rolling around theatrically on the turf.

However, Mbappe who is much younger, looks to be just as talented with pace, power and plenty of trickery, while being far less high-maintenance and would therefore represent the best chances for being Real Madrid's talisman.

Former Madrid man Christian Karembeu has urged Perez to make his move quickly if he wants to land one of the true stars of the 2018 World Cup .

But Madrid dont seem to be in a hurry - for now, anyway.

"Given the constant information linking the PSG player Neymar with our club, Real Madrid CF wants to clarify that it has no plans to make any offers for the player," the Spanish side said in a statement on Friday.

"The relationship between the two clubs is extraordinary, so if at some point Real Madrid were considering signing a PSG player, the first thing it would do would be to go to his club."

Whatever Madrid say, the reality is they are interested in the two PSG players. And if they were to sign only one this summer, it ideally should be Mbappe and not Neymar.

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