“They’re overrated”: French legend questions Real Madrid team while defending Mbappé

In France, every development surrounding Kylian Mbappé is closely followed. Real Madrid’s unstable situation is being dissected across the country, at times linked to the performances of the French national team captain. In this instance, however, he does not appear to be the main target. Christophe Dugarry chose to dig deeper into the turmoil at the Spanish club, defending his compatriot while directing his criticism at the rest of the squad. He believes there are “too many inconsistent players” at Real Madrid.

“It surprises me quite a bit that Real Madrid’s problems are being blamed solely on Mbappé. At some point, we need to stop exaggerating,” the World Cup winner said Monday on Rothen s’enflamme on RMC. “If the Spaniards don’t want him anymore, then send him back. Or maybe he’ll leave and make someone else happy, I don’t know.

The former French international went further, naming several players directly. “These are clubs that aim for the stars – they are the best – and I think there are players who are not at that level. They’ve been there a long time. I’m thinking of Camavinga, Güler, Valverde, Tchouaméni… Asencio, who came out of nowhere and became a starter because there were so many injuries. He proved to be a good player, but he’s not a Real Madrid center back. Alaba is injured and only plays one week every three months – he’s not at that level.”

He also suggested the club’s recent transfer strategy may be part of the issue. “It gives me the impression they signed a lot of players whose contracts were about to expire because they had fewer resources available. When you play for clubs like that, you have to prove you’re a great player over the course of a season, lead your team, be decisive. That’s the difference between the level we experience every day in our domestic leagues and the level at Real Madrid.”

“You can’t spend two, three or four years at a club like this and always perform at the same level – one good game, one mediocre game, one here, one there… There are too many players who are far too inconsistent,” he concluded.

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