Why Kylian Mbappe left PSG for Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe is writing his name as the greatest footballer in France's storied history.

The legendary striker doesn't play his club football in France's Ligue 1 anymore, though. He plays in Spain's La Liga for Real Madrid.

That comes into the spotlight even more on Tuesday as France takes on Spain in World Cup semifinal clash.

The storylines are almost limitless, including yet another matchup against Spain's Lamine Yamal, who plies his club craft at Barcelona, the main rivals of Real Madrid.

But it's particularly compelling that only a couple years ago, Mbappe left the French powerhouse Paris-Saint Germain to join Real Madrid.

Why did Kylian Mbappe leave PSG for Real Madrid?

There are a few main reasons at play that contributed to Mbappe's departure.

The first is his childhood fandom. He had grown up a fan of Real Madrid. That was well known, and it made it always seem likely he'd eventually depart to play there.

He also had spent his whole professional career in Ligue 1 up to that point. Prior to PSG, he had played for Monaco, which while not technically in France does play in the French first division.

In France, PSG has become something of an unstoppable force, and so going to Real Madrid meant the annual battles with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for supremacy.

Ironically, PSG has won back-to-back Champions League titles since Mbappe left, but he likely planned to win that competition with Real Madrid, too -- and still could in the future.

For now, the hope for France at the World Cup is that Mbappe's game has kept growing thanks to this move -- which certainly seems like the case.

Amazingly, Spain doesn't actually have any Real Madrid players in its squad at this World Cup, for the first time ever.

So during the World Cup semifinal, a Real Madrid diehard will have to choose between cheering for their representative at this stage, Mbappe, against their nation.