Kylian Mbappe has made a name for himself since his move to Monaco. At such a young age, the French superstar has already achieved many accolades, becoming France’s captain and winning the World Cup in 2018, his maiden tournament experience at an international level. He made the headlines this summer by completing a move to Real Madrid after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired, making him one of the most expensive free transfers.
However, his move to the Bernabéu has been nothing short of disappointing, with fans highlighting numerous poor performances from the French forward. The inconsistencies displayed have left fans asking what is going wrong for Mbappé; however, he is not alone.
Is the Mbappe dilemma causing friction for the entire Real Madrid squad?
At the time of writing, Madrid are second in La Liga, but they have played one fewer game than their counterparts due to flooding in Valencia. Hansi Flick has brought out a new side to their competitive rivals Barcelona, something which has been absent from the Nou Camp for some time now after the departure of Lionel Messi.
Vinicius Jr has led the side at times and now has a point to prove following his Ballon d’Or snub, one which caused controversy when Ancelotti’s side refused to attend the ceremony despite the team winning the men’s team of the year award. The Brazilian failed to make an immediate impact when he only completed one dribble past Milan’s Emerson Royal in the Champions League in the previous round.
Champions League football is another problem area for the club, and their form in Europe so far leads many to believe that their title defence will not come to fruition this campaign after they have fallen to defeat in Europe twice. Their domestic and continental form could lead to a rare trophyless season for the Galacticos and leave Mbappe still searching for the Champions League trophy that has eluded him to this point in his career.
It is safe to say that the performances of Vinicius are keeping the side in the race for the title despite already being behind their rivals, who are rarely slipping up in games, all while Madrid have already lost once and played out draws three times in the league. One player who has also underperformed is English midfielder Jude Bellingham, who ended his goal drought for the European champions this weekend.
Bellingham has been playing his primary central midfield position in some fixtures for the side this season, but there have been games where the Englishman has been playing in an attacking midfield partnership with Vinicius Jr behind Kylian Mbappe in the striker position.
Unrest at Real Madrid, but is Mbappe the problem?
There has been some unrest at the Bernabeu, it would appear, but that is not to say the France captain is a part of the problem entirely. While Vinicius Jr is leading the side with his performances, he could be one player the finger is pointed at for the issues behind the scenes.
One issue that the hosts of The Deck’s partner podcast, Stat Way, pointed out was that Mbappe is a player who has the most impact playing as an inside forward on the left wing rather than in the striker position. His final season in the French capital saw him convert 26 times in 26 games as a striker, also featuring 20 times as a left-winger, where he scored 18 goals.
While you could argue that those numbers are more impressive as a striker, in comparison to his numbers as a winger, it is important to note the differences between the two sides he played for. While his former club is one of the biggest in France, they did not have as many high-profile names as Real Madrid does now. No club in the world boasts a roster as impressive as the Galacticos, leading to further surprise at their drop in quality behind Barcelona.
One case that you could use to argue his lack of impact as a striker is his poor performance in El Clasico, as they fell to a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona. It was a huge game for the side, which Mbappe could have used to make a statement in Spain after a slow start to life in the capital, but he had little impact and found himself offside eight times in that game. However, that worrying statistic has followed the forward since El Clasico, and he leads in Europe for the most offside decisions with 17.
Is Mbappe set to repeat Real Madrid history?
With his slow start, it has not been entirely poor after he has scored eight goals in 16 games; it could be that the side is headed for a personality implosion with so many big names in their squad, especially with the Frenchman playing a similar role to Vinicius Jr. The France captain’s former club are set to table a bid for the Brazilian, which would smash the transfer record. Selling the winger could lead to an ideal situation for the Spanish giants but leave them searching for a striker once more. There does appear to be a Jekyll and Hyde relationship between Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, as some of the Frenchman’s best and worst performances have come while in a strike partnership with the Brazilian, but this leads to the argument that both are being played out of position in such fixtures.
His transfer could be synonymous with another left-winger who featured at the Bernabeu, Eden Hazard.
The Belgian switched from Stamford Bridge to the Spanish capital, and his time with Los Blancos was disappointing, especially after such prolific title-winning campaigns with the Blues in England. Hazard made himself one of the most expensive players to leave their club for free, a record Mbappe broke when he joined Madrid. It could have been a different story for the 25-year-old, as reports circulated that English side Liverpool had tabled a three-figure bid in the millions for the forward.
The only vital difference between Hazard and Mbappe is game time; the Belgian struggled to play for the club as injuries persisted, limiting him to just 54 games, scoring four goals along the way. Hazard missed 105 games for club and country while he was a Real Madrid player. The reason that game time was limited means it is not a case of history entirely repeating itself, but he could replicate the scenario of a high-profile player disappointing while at the club.