If Kylian Mbappe had arrived at Real Madrid in 2021, when he was first supposed to, he would have turned up as the hero bought to lead the team.

The club’s failure to sign him left them relying on Vinicius Jr and the Brazilian striker, who had previously managed just three league goals in his first two senior seasons, stunned everyone scoring 17 in one campaign.

Despite that, had Mbappe arrived in 2022 he would still have come in as the club’s new most important player. Again his signing was frustrated.

This summer he would still have been the top of the bill signing although Jude Bellingham’s arrival would have taken some of the limelight away.

Now, if he comes in 2024 he will sign as a new recruit to ‘Generation Jude’. He’ll be a fabulous addition but he will not be the main man because Bellingham and his pals have made the Madrid team theirs and Mbappe will have to fit in as opposed to expecting everything to mould itself around him.

Jude Bellingham is leading Real Madrid’s next generation after making a flying start to life at the Bernabeu

Vinicius Jr has now signed a new deal at Real Madrid to secure his long-term future in Spain

Kylian Mbappe was previously seen as the signing that would save the club, but that is no longer the case

Vinicius signed a new contract this week extending his stay at the club until 2027. His association with Bellingham has grown and grown through mimicking his celebration to setting him up for his third Champions League goal in three games, away at Braga last week.

After that 17-goal haul in the domestic competition two years ago, Vinicius scored 23 in all competitions last season, with 20 assists added. He now has more Champions League assists than Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

Off the pitch he has become an icon of the ongoing battle against racism and Madrid’s most recognisable global star. And on €10m (£8.7m) net now, he is, along with Bellingham, set to be the club’s top earner over the next three years.

Two years ago it was a given that he would have to vacate his berth on the left of Real Madrid’s attack to accommodate Mbappe, now that is no longer necessarily the case.

It’s true the Frenchman has won a World Cup but Vinicius can point to having scored the winning goal in a Champions League final and it would be for the coach to work-out how best to line-up both.

Rodrgyo will be the next player renewed, for less than Vinicius, although most probably for one extra year until 2028. And behind Madrid’s twin turbines is a Fab Four of midfielders (Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni) which look set to reign for years.

Madrid have some hugely promising young players coming through including Eduardo Camavinga (left) and Aurelien Tchouameni (right)

Fede Valverde makes up the quartet that looks set to flourish at Madrid for years to come

Bellingham posted a mock-up ‘Abbey Road’ picture of the quartet on a pelican crossing after the Clasico, in honour of the way the game was being talked about as a Beatles 2 Rolling Stones 1 affair.

Barcelona had Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood in the Directors’ Box, but with Hey Jude on the pitch there was always only going to be one winner.

Camavinga is, along with Bellingham, the baby of the group at just 20 but Tchouameni is only 23 and Valverde is just 25. Camavinga has a deal until 2027, Tchouameni until 2028, and Valverde until 2027.

There is strength in youth defensively too with centre-back Eder Militao only 25 and left back Fran Garcia is 24. But it’s in the six most attacking positions that Real Madrid have invested so shrewdly, and there is more to come beyond Vinicius, Rodrygo, Valverde, Bellingham, Tchouameni and Camavinga.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder Nico Paz has six goals in eight starts this season for Raul’s B-team ‘Real Madrid Castilla’. He impressed on the US tour in the summer and has already been called up to a couple of first team squads.

His goal scoring caught the eye last season too when he scored 13 between the Under-18s and Castilla. He’s rangy, athletic and can play as a number 10, or as a right-sided midfielder.

Arda Guler is only 18 and yet to debut due to injury but he’s another who the club are excited about, having paid €20m (£17.4m) to Fenerbahce for him last summer. He could be included in the matchday squad this weekend after recovering full from his meniscus problems and there is great expectation about where he might fit into the bold and vibrant team that is emerging.

And then there is Endrick Felipe the 17-year-old Brazilian who has already played 50 games for Palmeiras. Madrid brought him from the Brazilian side last year before loaning him back as they did previously with Vinicius at Flamengo.

He is a centre-forward and comparisons have been made with both Romario and Ronaldo Nazario by the former Brazil international Neto. He’s quick and skilful and if he does play wider then he prefers to come off the right flank on to his left foot which suits Madrid because it’s the opposite to Vinicius.

If he fulfils those heady Romario-Ronaldo comparison predictions then Madrid will not need Mbappe. For now though the Frenchman remains the ultimate collectors item that would complete the set for president Florentino Perez.

More young talents will arrive soon, with Endrick (pictured) set to come over from Brazil

He is out of contract again next summer and if Madrid can factor in the likely €100m (£87m) signing-on fee to their finances the deal will be done.

It will hurt them because the budget is already stretched by the way the Santiago Bernabeu refurbishment has gone over budget leaving the club forced to borrow a further €370m (£322m), but it will be worth it if he turns Madrid into the team most likely to dominate the Champions League for the next 10 years the way they have in the last 10.

They will not let him write his own check though. And he will join a club that already has an ecosystem of stars, well aligned, and orbiting around Bellingham.

It’s the perfect illustration of how successful Real Madrid’s squad rejuvenation plan has been that the 24-year-old Paris Saint Germain striker was once the be-all-and-end-all for Real Madrid, now he’s someone who can come if he wants to join the party but who is no longer the begged-for salvation of the team.