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Football

27th Jul 2018

Real Madrid fans have voted on who they want to replace Cristiano Ronaldo

The people have spoken

Reuben Pinder

Shockingly, it’s not Kylian Mbappé

Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Real Madrid to Juventus came as a shock to the footballing world, and a huge disappointment to Real Madrid fans. It’s never easy to lose your greatest all time goalscorer, but the optimist would see it as an opportunity to begin a new era. They are now entering a transition period. Out with the old, in with the new.

As is tradition, the Spanish newspaper MARCA have published a poll, allowing Madrid fans to vote on who they would most like to replace Ronaldo. The results are in, and may come as a surprise.

Kylian Mbappé has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, and his performances at the World Cup will only have lifted his reputation as a world beater across the globe. However, he is not Real Madrid fans’ first choice. Nor is Robert Lewandowski, another striker who has been linked with a move to Madrid for years.

No, it turns out Madrid fans would most like Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. Ever since he broke through into Tottenham’s first team, scored a few goals and didn’t stop, he has also been lossely linked with a move to Madrid. His complete skillset caught the eye of Los Blancos’ fans, and his six goals at the World Cup will only have made him more popular among them.

The poll received 200,000 votes, with Kane earning 26 per cent of the vote. Édinson Cavani and Mauro Icardi both received 14 per cent of the vote.

Possibly the biggest surprise from the poll is that former Madrid forward Mariano Diaz, who now plies his trade at Lyon, got 12 per cent of the votes. Madrid fans appear to think that they let him go too early.

Their wish to buy Harry Kane is unlikely to be realised in the near future, but should Spurs go another two seasons without a trophy, who knows?