Haaland remains on the radar : Real Madrid has never completely closed the door on signing Erling Haaland. While the Norwegian striker is under contract at Manchester City, he’s openly expressed interest in playing for Los Blancos one day. Internally, the idea of building a super attack around Mbappé and Haaland is very much alive.

As the only two natural strikers in Alonso’s squad, both Endrick and Gonzalo would fit the mold of the No. 9 shirt at Real Madrid. Yet the “heated” battle between the two players puts the club in a tricky position, forced to choose between the teenage sensation they once believed in or the breakout star that more-than proved his worth this summer.

Cristiano Ronaldo also changed his shirt number early into his Madrid career. Like Mbappe, the Portugal international wore the No 9 after joining the club from Manchester United in the summer of 2009. He inherited Raul’s No 7 shirt from the 2010/11 season onwards.