As early as May, when the league had just been suspended, the ever-persistent media reporters had already uncovered some clues.
The French newspaper L'Équipe reported that Paris Saint-Germain was interested in signing Varane and Pogba from Real Madrid.
These two transfer rumors were quickly denied by the Spanish media, as Real Madrid had no reason to let Pogba go.
It is important to remember that Pogba developed into one of the world's best midfielders at the Bernabéu and was also one of Zidane's favorite players. So, with Zidane about to take charge of the team, why would Real Madrid sell the French midfielder?
But as more clues surfaced, the possibility of a transfer continued to grow.
By the end of May, the Spanish media had basically confirmed that Varane would transfer to Paris Saint-Germain after the season, while Real Madrid would do their best to sign De Ligt from Leeds United. At the same time, Pogba's transfer also came into focus again.
AS first reported that Real Madrid were studying the feasibility of signing Bernardo Silva from Leeds United.
In a media interview, Zidane revealed for the first time that he would respect Pogba's wishes.
This was seen as Real Madrid giving the green light for Pogba's transfer.
After the Champions League final, the Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain delegations arrived in Leeds almost one after the other.
According to The Sun, José Sanchez and Jean-Claude Blanc met privately at a hotel in Leeds to discuss the possibility of player transfers and had dinner together.
Both clubs had originally come to poach players from Leeds United, but it suddenly turned into talks between the two sides, which puzzled the British media.
Subsequently, other transfers continued to emerge in European football.
Manchester United officially made an offer for Trent Alexander-Arnold from Leeds United, willing to pay a transfer fee of 100 million euros to sign the England international, but Leeds United rejected the offer and reiterated that Alexander-Arnold was not for sale.
Around the same time, the Manchester Evening News revealed that Manchester United were working to sign Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
"Crystal Palace are not opposed to selling their right-back, but they have priced Wan-Bissaka at 60 million euros."
A reporter from the Manchester Evening News commented that spending 60 million euros to acquire Wan-Bissaka was not cost-effective at all.
"Manchester United are conducting an internal evaluation and are more inclined to sign Alexander-Arnold."
Meanwhile, Leicester City signed Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans from Monaco in Ligue 1 for 50 million euros.
The player had been loaned to Leicester City during the winter break, with an option to buy. After six months of evaluation, Leicester finally decided to sign Tielemans permanently.
Eintracht Frankfurt had performed exceptionally well in the last two seasons, with their two tall strikers, Haller and Jovic, shining brightly. Jovic, in particular, scored 17 goals in the Bundesliga last season, attracting attention from many top clubs.
However, West Ham United beat the competition, signing Ivorian striker Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for 50 million euros.
Sevilla of La Liga signed French center-back Koundé from Bordeaux in Ligue 1 for 40 million euros.
Watford signed Ismaïla Sarr from Rennes for 30 million euros.
Newcastle United signed Joelinton from Hoffenheim for 50 million euros.
Bayern Munich signed French right-back Benjamin Pavard from Stuttgart for 40 million euros.
Even De Laurentiis, known for his frugality, signed Mexican winger Hirving Lozano from PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie for 50 million euros.
...
Suddenly, the entire European transfer market became incredibly lively.
The world's media and fans were astonished by these transfers.
There were even many players the fans barely knew, yet they were being sold for 40 or 50 million euros, or even higher.
The transfer market was instantly hyped up, so much so that when Real Madrid officially announced they had sold key center-back Varane to Paris Saint-Germain for 100 million euros, no one felt surprised anymore.
Wasn't that normal?
At just 20 years old, and never having been selected for the French national team, having played only one full season for Bordeaux, who finished 14th in Ligue 1, Koundé was still sold for 40 million euros. So was Varane's 100 million euro transfer really that expensive?
Compared to that, it seemed quite cheap.
L'Équipe published the transfer news on its front page and highly praised Paris Saint-Germain's move, claiming that signing Varane and bringing the French national team captain back to Ligue 1 had special significance for French football.
"This will be a brand new beginning for Ligue 1!"
Paris Saint-Germain CEO Olivier Blanc also expressed his welcome to Varane, thanked the club staff for their efforts in completing the transfer, and expressed confidence that Varane could lead PSG to success.
At the same time, Blanc revealed that the club would pursue at least two more high-profile French internationals.
This immediately sparked excitement and discussion across French football.
Many speculated that PSG wanted to sign Mbappé.
However, the French football magazine denied this claim and revealed PSG's transfer plans drawn up by Gao Shen, suggesting that the club's next targets were Pogba and Dembélé.
"Both players fit what head coach Tuchel needs, as they would strengthen the midfield core and the right wing. With the addition of Mazraoui from Ajax, PSG's summer signings would fill key tactical gaps in the squad."
French football magazines believed that PSG would need to spend a large amount to sign these two rising French internationals.
But for PSG, financially powerful and determined to localize its strategy within France, this was not a major problem.
...
Just after Real Madrid sent Varane to PSG, they immediately announced the signing of Champions League winner and talented center-back Matthijs de Ligt from Leeds United for 120 million euros.
The departure of Varane left Real Madrid fans disappointed, but since his contract renewal had been stalled for more than half a year with no progress, they were already prepared for it. Being able to sell him for 100 million euros and bring in De Ligt for 120 million euros was seen as acceptable.
More importantly, De Ligt was younger, more aggressive, and more imposing.
While Varane played with elegance, he lacked intensity and drive. De Ligt, however, was a Dutch defender whose style resembled Ramos, which raised expectations among Real Madrid fans.
Following Real Madrid's signing of De Ligt, Barcelona announced the signing of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for 90 million euros.
This transfer was slightly higher than in Gao Shen's previous life, clearly influenced by the inflated European market.
With Griezmann and now De Jong, Barcelona had spent more than 200 million euros in one window, showing clear ambition.
Catalan media were full of praise.
Although Barcelona was deeply in debt, that didn't stop them from continuing to strengthen their squad to remain competitive in the league and challenge for the Champions League.
But just then, Real Madrid suddenly announced that they had signed French winger Kylian Mbappé from Leeds United for a record-breaking 250 million euros.
This instantly shocked the entire world.
After more than a year of rumors and anticipation, the record-breaking transfer had finally happened.
Kylian Mbappé, the 20-year-old prodigy, had finally followed in the footsteps of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and joined Real Madrid, setting a new world record for the highest transfer fee in football history.
The entire football world, and even global media, erupted in excitement over Real Madrid's blockbuster deal.
This transfer saga had been ongoing for more than a year, ever since the end of the previous World Cup. After countless rumors and speculation, it was finally settled.
The 250 million euro transfer fee shattered the record previously held by Neymar.
Mbappé had become the most expensive player in football history.
Real Madrid announced the news on their official website, followed immediately by Leeds United. Major Spanish outlets reprinted it, with AS publishing an exclusive interview with Mbappé at once.
Even before Real Madrid's official announcement, they had secretly sent a team to France to meet Mbappé during his vacation for a short interview. Mbappé expressed his delight at joining Real Madrid.
He thanked Leeds United for nurturing him over the years but said he now wanted to challenge himself at a higher level and firmly believed he could succeed at Real Madrid.
French striker Karim Benzema immediately retweeted the news on Twitter, congratulating Mbappé and expressing his excitement to play alongside him at Real Madrid.
"Although he is only 20 years old, he is already the best player in the world."
Real Madrid's new head coach Zinedine Zidane also welcomed Mbappé, saying, "He is a phenomenal attacker. We will help him grow and improve, and we firmly believe he will have a wonderful career at Real Madrid."
However, Zidane also emphasized that comparing Mbappé to Ronaldo was inappropriate.
"He will not become anyone else; he will only become himself."
"We will all work hard to help him become a better Mbappé."
Immediately after both clubs' official announcements, Mbappé gave an interview to the French media, expressing his gratitude to Zidane and saying he couldn't wait to make his Real Madrid debut under Zidane's guidance.
According to AS and Marca, Real Madrid would hold a grand presentation ceremony for Mbappé at the Bernabéu Stadium, a tradition for their superstar signings.
That was exactly what they did when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
As for the timing, it was set for early July, just before the team's summer training camp.
"Ten years after signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, we now welcome Mbappé!"
"He will be Real Madrid's most exciting superstar of the past decade!"
"The Real Madrid team that gets your blood pumping is finally back!"
(To be continued.)