An online petition calling for Real Madrid to deal with Kylian Mbappé now has over 30 million signatures, but why are fans so unhappy with the French striker?
Here, Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solgecol answers key questions as discontent appears to be growing in Madrid…
Mbappe has had an incredible scoring record since moving to the Bernabéu.
Why are Real Madrid fans unhappy with Mbappé?
Mbappé became the scapegoat.
Real Madrid won’t win another trophy this season, but fans are particularly unhappy about the fact that he flew to Sardinia on a private jet last week for a romantic holiday with his actress girlfriend Esther Exposito while recovering from a hamstring injury.
He returned to Madrid on Sunday evening minutes before Real Madrid’s kick-off against Espanyol, but things have not gone well for Real Madrid, who are 11 points behind Barcelona. El Clasico will be held on Sunday, with Barcelona likely to be crowned La Liga champions once again. Meanwhile, Real’s star player is on holiday.
The player’s agent confirmed that he has been cleared for a few days and is following a rehabilitation program set up by Real Madrid’s medical team.
But despite this, Madrid’s dissatisfaction seems to be growing.
An online petition calling for Real Madrid to punish Mbappé has grown rapidly and currently has more than 30 million signatures. If they were all real, it would be a petition to break the world record.
To put things into perspective, Spain’s population is around 50 million, while Real Madrid claim to have 600 million fans around the world. Many of them seem to have their eyes set on Mbappe, as they see him as a symbol of the club’s misaligned problems, despite scoring 85 goals in two seasons.
Are there wider concerns at Real Madrid than just Mbappé?
Real Madrid fans wonder if Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will be able to play for the American team
Despite Mbappé’s goals, Real Madrid have not won any major trophies since joining on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019.
To make matters worse, PSG won the Champions League for the first time the season after he left, returning to the finals later this month.
PSG basically decided he was more of a nuisance than a valuable asset.
Mbappe is an incredible talent, but his lack of off-the-ball work means he wasn’t too unhappy when Luis Enrique, perhaps the world’s best manager at the moment, left. For Luis Enrique, the team always comes first and he cannot play without running.
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Highlights of the La Liga match between Espanyol and Real Madrid.
When you watch Mbappe play, he’s the type of player who doesn’t do much when his team doesn’t have the ball. He hangs around the center circle waiting for someone to give him a pass, but that doesn’t work in modern soccer.
PSG were overjoyed when the ‘Mbappé circus’ left town, but relations soured to the point where the player and his former club were embroiled in a long-running financial dispute over the terms of his contract and his departure.
Also, Real Madrid fans have asked many times: Can Vincius Junior and Mbappé be included in the team? If both players are on the side, there will be no balance. That’s another reason why we see this petition and why some Real fans want Mbappé to be punished.
Can the “Mbappé problem” be solved?
It will be interesting to see what happens at Real Madrid this summer.
The “Mbappe problem” is one of the major issues facing Real Madrid’s next manager.
The club’s strong dressing room has already seen off Xabi Alonso this season, but even if Jose Mourinho returns this summer, things are unlikely to go their way.
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Sky Sports’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekor considers the possible scenarios in which Jose Mourinho could make a surprise return as Real Madrid head coach.
Mourinho is the front-runner to replace Alvaro Arbeloa and the Benfica manager has a 10-day break clause of 3 million euros (about 2.5 billion yen), which could be triggered later this month.
If Mourinho were to take over, you might imagine that every player would be given a clean slate, but no one is more powerful than the manager. Mourinho is not the kind of manager who comes off as Mbappé’s ego, who throws tantrums on the training ground, or who jets off on romantic holidays after an injury.
He will also have to decide once and for all whether Mbappé and Vinicius Junior can play in the same team. As mentioned above, many Real Madrid fans think it has to be one or the other.
Will Real Madrid consider selling Mbappé and where could he go?
Mbappe scored 85 goals in 100 appearances for Real Madrid.
Mbappe has three years left on his contract and, despite his petitions, is unlikely to be sold anytime soon.
Talk of him playing in the Premier League any time soon is premature.
If he were to leave, his transfer fee would be around £200m, but in the new era of team cost ratio rules, who could afford such a sum and his hefty wage and bonus demands?
If he were to leave the Bernabéu, his next destination would likely be Saudi Arabia.
Three years ago, Al Hilal offered PSG £260m to sign him.
I wasn’t interested at the time, but maybe I’ll have better luck if I can try again later in my career and in preparation for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
What’s next for the Mbappé story?
Mbappé has three years left on his current contract with Madrid
The big question is whether Mbappe is fit to play any role in Sunday night’s Clasico in Barcelona.
With the World Cup just around the corner, Mbappe will be one of the big stars of this summer’s tournament, and that couldn’t escape the attention of Real Madrid supporters.
Many of them will be looking to make up for the disappointment of losing in the 2022 final, despite scoring a hat-trick in the final, by doing one thing better this time, and are convinced he is putting country before club. According to them, the reason he is taking this long break is because he wants to give 100 percent to win the World Cup again this summer.
France is in the same group as Senegal, Iraq and Erling Haaland’s Norway. Taking a few months away from Madrid and proving himself to the world on the biggest stage would be the perfect opportunity for him to reset his relationship with the Bernabéu’s demanding fans.
France will begin their World Cup campaign against Senegal at MetLife Stadium, which will also be the venue for the final.
Mbappé will have mixed feelings about playing there again. He was in the starting lineup when Real Madrid lost 4-0 to PSG in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
