REAL MADRID
"Ancelotti is in the same prison as the rest with Mbappé"
The reaction to Real Madrid’s UCL loss pointed the finger at one player in particular.
Kylian Mbappé may have only just moved from France to Spain, but every move the former PSG player makes is scrutinised to the last detail back home. French fans and media closely monitor his progress and remain deeply concerned about his physical condition...
Last night, in Real Madrid’s heavy Champions League defeat to Milan, Mbappé drew criticism from French analysts. Experts like Thierry Henry and Daniel Riolo have been dissecting his recent performances at Madrid, asserting that he has not met expectations—and even suggesting he should start on the bench.
“I think the team is frustrated with him, which I can understand...,” Thierry Henry began. “We need to give him time, but he also has to learn to play like a true number 9, to show desire and a willingness to lead the attack. Bellingham is trying to do what his number 9, Mbappé, should be doing. It’s almost always Bellingham making the runs and linking up play,” Henry admitted.
‘Mbappé should play on the left or be benched'
“Who’s making the runs and pushing towards goal? It’s Bellingham, not the number 9,” Henry continued. “There’s frustration—look at the number 9! Once again, he’s not there. I understand that Mbappé isn’t a natural number 9 and doesn’t enjoy playing that role, but do you think Bellingham loves these runs, stretching the team? He does it because he has the desire and the will.”
Henry went on to criticise Mbappé‘s passivity. “Look at where he’s positioned, passing up his role as the 9 to let others run behind the defence,” the former French striker observed. “You can’t win games like that, with your 10 constantly breaking forward, tracking back, and then trying to defend while also scoring. I would have been upset if I were substituted, too. For me, it’s not good enough. I don’t think they’re playing well as a team.”
When asked for a solution, Henry remained hopeful. “Mbappé will improve; he can’t get worse. We’re not asking him to play like Didier Drogba, or dribble past everyone, but to support the press and make runs. Even Rüdiger did that in the first half,” Henry concluded.
In his program After Foot, Daniel Riolo argued that Mbappé should be dropped to the bench. “Madrid plays without a centre forward—that’s how it was last season, with the French national team, and now at Real Madrid. I’ve been saying this for months.
“Mbappé is not, and will never be, a number 9. Either he plays on the left or sits on the bench. And right now, with Vinicius in form and established at the club, Mbappé has to be benched. Will Ancelotti make that call? Madrid is a big club and capable of it, but this situation can’t go on.”
Jean-Michel Larqué expressed similar concerns on Rothen s’enflamme. “I’m starting to worry about Mbappé, especially because he’s no longer showing the same spark or making the plays he used to,” Larqué said. For Mbappé and the LaLiga club, these are challenging times.