Kylian Mbappé’s start at Real Madrid has been a bit challenging. While he’s scored eight goals and provided two assists in 15 appearances, the former Paris Saint-Germain standout is still adjusting to the team’s playing style.
The Frenchman’s El Clásico debut was particularly tough, as Real Madrid were hammered 4-0 by Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu on October 26. The struggles continued on Tuesday, with a 3-1 loss to AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
That defeat marked Real Madrid’s second consecutive home loss, with a combined score of 7-1 over the two games. Throughout both matches, PSG’s all-time top scorer struggled to make a notable impact.
Kylian Mbappé makes unhappiness known
Mundo Deportivo reports that Mbappé isn’t a fan of Carlo Ancelotti’s style of play. He’s reportedly mentioned to those close to him that he’s accustomed to having the team play around him such as it was done with PSG.
🚨 Kylian Mbappé does not like the way Carlo Ancelotti's team plays.
He has reportedly indicated it to those around him, as he is used to everyone playing for him in Paris.
(Source: @mundodeportivo) pic.twitter.com/3MnFT0fdOp
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Following the loss to AC Milan, a report surfaced suggesting that Carlo Ancelotti’s future is now in jeopardy. Nonetheless, if Real Madrid fired Ancelotti, the blame should be solely on club president Florentino Pérez for causing this situation.
“Florentino Pérez is giving Ancelotti a poisoned gift,” Olivier Rouyer said on L’ÉQUIPE du soir this week. “In the end, imagine Madrid loses the next match in the Champions League, I don’t know against whom, I’m sorry, and the match after that. But Ancelotti might get fired because, precisely, Ancelotti has this problem: ‘What do I do with Mbappé? Since I can’t put him on the left.’
“It’s a serious problem. You know why? Because of the timing of Mbappé’s transfer. It’s not right. We all agree. If he had left in 2022, Vinicius, who was at Real, would have had his left wing. The problem is that the two years that delayed his transfer allowed Vinicius to explode. We agree. And it messed up the balance.”
A team built around a player is predictable. It was the reason why MBappe at PSG ultimately never won the CL.
Real Madrid’s strength is in its unpredictability – the closest it came to being dependant on a player was Ronaldo… but even then the goal threat was from any team position and Ronaldo himself was able to adapt to different styles while remaining ruthlessly goal efficient.
By spending his formative years being spoilt by PSG, MBappe is now lacking the quickness of mind and feet for small space creative combinations ( Spanish requirement ). It should not have been an unknown for him also that this Real Madrid squad (or any other) would NOT be tuned to play for him.
It is a conundrum for both MBappe and Madrid… MBappe for now having to start from zero and Madrid for over-estimating MBappe’s footballing IQ and skill.
While he may be unpopular in France right now, it will change because it will eventually become a French pride thing.
The Qatari morals are heavily influenced by money and its associated politics… ultimately it will become obvious that accepting the oil money changes the host country’s cultural identity.