Just hours after Mbappé's move to Whitehawk was confirmed, the south coast club had confirmed yet another first team signing. Argentine defender Emanuel Mammana, who had seen his contract with Manchester United just expire, signed for Ryan Ferguson's side on a free transfer. The thirty one year old arrived on a three year deal, worth an estimated £125,000 per week.
Growing up in Buenos Aires, Mammana's career began with Argentina giants River Plate, a club which bred the likes of Javier Mascherano, Gonazalo Higuaín, Erik Lamela, Matías Kranevitter and Lucas Ocampos. The versatile defender made his debut in 2014, and went on to make 23 league appearances before moving to French side Olympique Lyonnais in 2016 for a fee of £6.5M.
The Argentine made an immediate impact at his new side, playing twenty seven times in his debut season in France, in all competitions. Mammana spent four years in France with Lyonnais, before moving on, having played a total of 146 appearances, and being named in the team's team of the season each of four times.
A move to Portuguese giants SL Benfica followed, costing £26,000,000. A fruitful three years in Lisbon produced 135 appearances for Mammana, where he won two league titles, and four other trophies. His stock as a defensive mastermind had risen, and a number of Europe's top clubs were vying for his signature in the summer of 2023.
José Mourinho's Manchester United allured the player to Old Trafford, for a fee of £35,500,000. In a team where competition was extremely fierce, Mammana impressed at the heart of the defence. In his four seasons at Old Trafford, Mammana mustered 152 appearances in all competitions, winning four trophies on the way.
Mammana began his senior international career with Argentina in 2014, in a friendly against Slovenia. He has since gone on to win 62 caps for his country, scoring his only goal against Bolivia in 2024.
At the age of 31, Mammana was relishing the opportunity of continuing to play at the highest level of football, and was excited by the prospect of playing for another title-chasing side.
Mammana Was A World Class Ball Winner With Years Of Experience
Emanuel Mammana:
"It is a great privilege to sign for Whitehawk Football Club. This club has a fantastic set of players, a genius of a manager, and the best supporters in the world. With a history that is still growing, anything is possible here at this football club and that is why I signed here.
I am now in my thirties, but that will not stop me from performing at my best. I am a player who still has fantastic physical qualities, but the most important part of my game does not depend on that. I have signed a three year contract here, and I believe I can contribute significantly at the highest level for even longer than that. I am not at the end of my career, nowhere near it. I hope to prove that in my time here."
Comment Section
MJK46, as fantastic a player as Mbappé is, I feel we already had a number of players of a similar, if not higher, quality to him. Anton Nyman, Kingsley Osagie, Franco Díaz, Erkan Aktaş & Facundo Foti were all world class players already at the club, and you will see what kind of quality they were in a few updates time, when a squad overview comes along. As a result, I don't think the signing of Mbappé could change my decision, he joined an already star-studded line-up.
ScottT, Fernando Torres scored crucial goals in a UEFA Champions League semi final and a UEFA Europa League final following a £50M move to Chelsea, so I hope Mbappé has a similar impact!
mgriffin2012, indeed it was a sign of the growth of the football club. We went from reluctantly letting go of £5.5K to sign Ollie Cole in 2017 to not even thinking twice about splashing out £50M on Kylian Mbappé in 2027. The difference ten years can make!
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