Considered one of the greatest footballers in this era, Kylian Mbappe made headlines when he switched from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid.
That move hasn’t been quite as seemless as expected, and a 4-0 humiliation in the Clasico has left Madrid’s media looking for scapegoats, so did he make the right move?
Incredible Start in the UEFA Super Cup
Kylian Mbappe wasted no time with his Real Madrid career, as he continued his personal and his employers’ legacy of winning titles—as he found the back of the net in his first competitive match for Real Madrid. This ensured his new club would triumph in the UEFA Super Cup 2-0 against Atalanta.
The scenes of jubilation in the stands and on the pitch of PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland, were only matched by those celebrating in the Spanish capital, relishing the thought of how good this team could be, and they quickly took their place as favorites for both La Liga and the Champions League in the Vegas sports lines and odds.
Settling into La Liga
When you’re a FIFA World Cup winner and serial winner with PSG, many anticipated that Mbappe would hit the ground in La Liga with his new team. Well, that didn’t happen.
The Frenchman failed to find the net in the first three games of the La Liga season, which saw the team draw with RCD Mallorca and even UD Las Palmas.
While his not scoring or (assisting) isn’t indicative of a poor performance, by his only standards, this should be considered a slip in form. After all, in the 2023/24 season, he made 48 senior appearances for PSG and scored 44 goals.
That’s 0.91 goals per game. Fast-forward to nine appearances with Real Madrid, and he’s only on 0.62 goals per game, suggesting his play is 30% worse than last season.
Of course, there are lots of variables in this. Most football fans would regard the overall quality in La Liga to be higher than that of Ligue 1, so it may not be possible for Mbappe to score the same number of goals. After all, he’s not Lionel Messi (jovial dig).
He also found great form in September, scoring five goals in 4 games for the team. They went on a four-game winning streak before he suffered a minor muscle injury, ruling him out of the game against Atletico Madrid before that 4-0 humbling at the hands of a youthful Barcelona
side.
Less Creative Role for Mbappe?
At PSG, Mbappe was used in a few different positions. He fluttered between the left wing and centre-forward and occasionally deployed on the right wing as well.
This led to him setting up many chances, key passes and assists for his teammates. This has been apparent since his emergence from AS Monaco, as he has shown the capabilities to play in any position in the advanced third.
Carlo Ancelotti has other ideas for getting the best out of the Balon d’Or competitor, such as exclusively using him down the middle as a CF.
While he might get a few assists along the way, given that he has Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo alongside him on the wings, Mbappe is being
given a free license to be the finisher instead of the architect.
Fitting a Superstar into an Already Star-Studded Team
How do you make a great team better? It's difficult. The arrival of Kylian Mbappe will no doubt have pleased the fans, but some might not have been so thrilled.
The players in similar positions will know they’ll be exiled to the bench because the world’s best player will be playing instead. That, in turn, creates a nightmare for the manager and his coaching staff, who have to ensure that affected players aren’t disheartened and that it doesn’t create undue problems in the squad dynamics.
That’s not to say that Mbappe is a troublemaker; it’s always hard for a better player to come in and not ruffle feathers within a pre-existing team setup.
While Joselu was already in his advancing years, if Mbappe hadn’t signed for the club – he might not have left Real Madrid and contested for game time. After all, he made solid contributions to the 2023/24 La Liga winning team with ten goals across the campaign.
