It will be one of the biggest deals of the summer. In fact, one of the biggest deals in football history. Kylian Mbappe has signed for Real Madrid. Another Galactico heads the Santiago Bernabeu but there is no guarantee this will work out.
In some ways, this is a bit of a bargain. After all, the World Cup winner arrives on a free transfer having seen his contract expire with Paris Saint-Germain. As is the way with life, however, nothing ever comes for free.
Indeed, Mbappe will cost Madrid a reported £85m in the form of a signing-on bonus. That’s not to mention his wages which will see him paid £12.8m every 12 months (after tax) for the duration of his five-year contract.
Upon announcing the deal, the 25-year-old claimed the move was “a dream come true”. However, this dream could very easily turn into a nightmare – especially with his displays at Euro 2024 a potentially concerning foreshadowing of what’s to come.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: No player has had as many attempts at Euro 2024 as Kylian Mbappe (24) – scoring just one goal, which was a penalty.
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Mbappe Flops at Euro 2024
“I wasn’t good”
It’s not controversial to suggest that Mbappe was well below par in Germany. After France were knocked out by Spain, the forward – who delivered a tame 6/10 display in the semi-final – even admitted he wasn’t at his best. He told the press:
Clearly with a mind on Real Madrid, he then added: “I wanted to be European champion. I will now go on holiday, I will rest well, it will do me a lot of good, then I will get ready to start a new life. There’s a lot to do.”
Obviously, there are mitigating factors as to why he struggled at Euro 2024. The elephant in the room is that broken nose. This obviously hindered his displays, leaving him with issues relating to his sleep schedule, and he never looked comfortable in the mask as it left his peripheral vision “severely limited”.
That said, the Frenchman’s form hadn’t been great before the injury. Indeed, Mbappe had an odd season with PSG, with the player’s future up in the air, he was dropped at times by manager Luis Enrique. His reduction in playing time led to fitness concerns ahead of Euro 2024 but even when he got on the pitch he wasn’t always delivering.
Notably, he struggled to make an impact in the Champions League semi-final defeat to Borussia Dortmund, picking up a 2/10 rating in L’Equipe on his “nightmare” final display for the club in Europe. And with just one goal in Germany at the European Championship – a penalty vs Poland – he has once again failed to live up to the hype when on the biggest stage.
Amid his move to La Liga, RMC Sport pundit Daniel Riolo expressed his concerns about the player’s form. He said (via One Football):
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Mbappe and Madrid’s Left-Wing Problem
Held back Bradley Barcola at Euro 2024
The real concern for Real Madrid is not whether or not Mbappe is a good player. Even in an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign, the Frenchman made it to the semi-finals with his nation at the Euros, while also winning Ligue 1 (netting 27 goals in 29 league games). His star quality should not really be doubted.
The issue, however, is a positional one. Playing as a left-winger vs Spain, Mbappe wasn’t able to impact the game in a positive way. All the while, he was keeping Bradley Barcola on the bench. When the 21-year-old finally came on, the left flank burst into life.
Indeed, Barcola played just 27 minutes but picked up a better SofaScore matching rating than Mbappe in that time (7.1 compared to 7.0). What’s more, the younger man also delivered two key passes (compared to Mbappe’s 1) and completed more successful dribbles (3/3 compared to 1/4).
The impact was obvious for anyone watching and it became clear that France could have enjoyed more success with Barcola on the pitch sooner. Of course, though, Didier Deschamps was hesitant to move Mbappe from his preferred position because he wanted to accommodate his star man.
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Mbappe at Euro 2024
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|---|---|---|
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Stat
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Mbappe
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Rank within France Squad
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Goals
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1
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1st =
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Assists
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1
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1st
|
|
Shots Per Game
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4.8
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1st
|
|
xG Difference
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16th (last)
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-2.02
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xG Per Shot
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5th
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0.13
|
|
Key Passes Per Game
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0.6
|
9th
|
|
Passing Accuracy
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87.8%
|
8th
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Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham Positional Clash
Mbappe Won’t Want to Play as a No.9
A similar issue may arise when Mbappe heads to Madrid. That’s because Los Blancos’ star man Vinicius Junior plays this role.
It’s one thing dropping Barcola for Mbappe but this particular issue could give Carlo Ancelotti a huge headache next season. After all, the Brazilian has become a Ballon d’Or contender playing that role, scoring 24 goals and picking up 11 assists there last season as Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League.
People may say that Mbappe could go down the middle to accommodate Vinicius but there are two issues there. Firstly, following the departure of Karim Benzema, Jude Bellingham essentially had to fill that role last term and it turns out he was pretty good at it.
The Englishman finished the season with 23 goals and 13 assists in all competitions and looked very comfortable being asked to provide the main attacking goal threat for Los Blancos, linking up wonderfully with Vini Jr. His relationship with the Brazilian was key to Ancelotti’s success and the arrival of Mbappe could unbalance that.
On top of that, the 25-year-old has publically spoken about not wanting to play as a number nine for PSG in the past – which was a major issue when Neymar was in the squad. Indeed, Mbappe once explained how he preferred playing for France because he had more freedom, saying:
Ancelotti already has a squad which won him a double last season. He won’t want to tinker with it too much but the opportunity to sign Mbappe was, understandably, too good to turn down.
Consequently, however, it won’t be easy trying to find a way to get the best out of the Frenchman while keeping the harmony in the squad. With the latest Galactico now on board, Los Blancos will be favourites to win La Liga and the Champions League again next term. Anything less than success in both competitions will be viewed as a disappointment.
Indeed, if they fail, people may question the wisdom of the deal. With expectations so high, and plenty of potential issues to overcome, it could quite easily end up being a disastrous season for Ancelotti, Mbappe and co.
Stats via Transfermarkt, WhoScored and SofaScore (as of 11/07/24).
“In football you’re good or not good. I wasn’t good. My Euro was a failure.”
“The French team was supposed to allow him to breathe after the past year [at PSG]. The Mbappe issue seems more serious than we think because dropping to such a low level is worrying. No one is throwing anything away, we just have to say that right now, it’s catastrophic.”
“I play differently [with France]. I am tasked with other things here compared to with my club [PSG]. I have a lot more freedom here. The coach knows that there is a No 9 like Olivier [Giroud] who occupies the defence and I can drift around and move into space. In Paris, it’s different, there isn’t that. I am asked to be the pivot.”
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Source: New York Post
