After a triumphant start to life as a Real Madrid player with the UEFA Super Cup win, Kylian Mbappe has found the going quite tough.
The 25-year-old French superstar has failed to live up to expectations and is struggling to make the kind of impact expected from a player of his calibre.
The former PSG superstar turned up one of his most disappointing displays this week against Liverpool as Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League.
Deployed in his preferred position on the left wing, Mbappe failed to make any sort of impact and even ended up missing a crucial penalty in the match.
Mbappe looked scared, says Guti
Now, speaking on El Chiringuito TV (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Real Madrid legend Guti has fired some criticism towards Mbappe, stating that the Frenchman looked scared while taking the penalty against Liverpool and seems to be lacking confidence.
“‘We would all like to know what’s wrong with Mbappe. He looks lacking in confidence, shy…. Moments before he took the penalty, he looked scared…. In that sense he is surely not happy with his performance and wants something more,” said Guti.
“I think Mbappe hasn’t been up to the task, obviously. That’s the reality,” he added.
Struggling. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Continuing Guti opined that Mbappe’s failures are due to “a lack of confidence”, adding that “you add to that the fact that Madrid fans were waiting for him with great eagerness and that he has come out of his PSG bubble where he had everything under control.”
The former star further insisted that it takes time for any player to adapt to a big club like Real Madrid, as he said:
“Mbappe has now come to another team where he will surely have to compete with great players to be the best, and all that has a price. And the Real Madrid shirt comes at a cost… and that’s normal.
“It’s difficult to think that a player can adapt so quickly and so soon to a club like Real Madrid, where it’s very complicated to play.”
Guti then insisted that Mbappe is one of the best in the world and backed him to produce a strong reaction with the support of club figures like Carlo Ancelotti and Florentino Perez.
“To take him away would be the worst remedy, but we have to protect him. And that’s why he’s at the best club. Florentino Perez, the club and Ancelotti are going to protect him because we all believe in him.
“I believe in him. It’s easy to criticise and say that he’s not good enough… but Mbappe is one of the best players in the world,” Guti concluded.