Michael Owen believes "it made perfect sense" for Real Madrid to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer despite Jude Bellingham's remarkable form last season - while claiming the striker's arrival may have limited the midfielder's output.

The England midfielder set La Liga alight following his $112million (£89m/€103m) move from Borussia Dortmund in June 2023, recording 19 goals and six assists in just 28 appearances to earn himself the Player of the Season award.

Real Madrid had actually decided to operate without a natural goalscorer following Karim Benzema's exit to Saudi Arabia at the end of the previous campaign, yet Bellingham filled in as a false nine and worked wonders as Los Blancos won La Liga and the Champions League.

However, it was still apparent Carlo Ancelotti's side needed a renowned goalscorer in attack and so they moved for long-term target Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, with the Frenchman grabbing seven goals in his first nine appearances for the club.

His arrival has, however, forced Bellingham to drop into a deeper role this season, limiting his attacking output to just two assists in six games, but former Galactico Owen believes Mbappe will help to spur the club on to win another Champions League in 2024-25, even if Real Madrid already did so without him.

"In certain situations, you can have too much talent to juggle, but Real Madrid aren’t in that position," he told Prime Casino. "It was obvious when Karim Benzema left that they didn’t have a center forward and now they’ve gone and got the best in the world in the form of Kylian Mbappe.

"I think with Mbappe, it makes perfect sense to sign him. Jude Bellingham did a really good job in the first half of the season, being that false number nine and working with the other forward players.

"In the second half of the season, even though they went on to win the Champions League, Bellingham’s form tailed off a little bit when playing a bit deeper. I think most people in the game would say, wow, if they had a center forward then that would be an even more incredible team."

Owen added: "If Real Madrid don't go and win the Champions League, people will be screaming from the rooftops, but I personally just think that will be happening."

Ancelotti reverted back to using Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo in attack for Sunday's Madrid derby against Atletico following Mbappe's recent injury, with Bellingham was forced to operate in an unnatural position out wide on the left.

Real Madrid was held to a last-gasp 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano Stadium, it's third of the season already, and leaves it three points behind league leaders Barcelona after eight games.

But with Mbappe expected to be out for around three weeks, it provides Bellingham with the chance to return to his more favored false nine position over the next few games, leaving him with the opportunity to improve his in output in front of goal.