The curious case of Kylian Mbappe
ByRudraneil Sengupta
Dec 14, 2024 11:33 AM IST
The World Cup winner has had shockingly bad stats since he joined Real Madrid in July. What will it take to turn this around?
What’s going wrong for Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid?
If fans are perplexed, it’s hard to imagine how he must feel. (Getty Images)
If fans are perplexed, it’s hard to imagine how he must feel. (Getty Images)
In a word, everything.
The French World Cup winner, long considered an exceptional talent destined to feature on the list of football’s greatest player’s, appears to have suddenly forgotten how to play the game.
He shoots into the comfort zones of goalkeepers, between waist and chest high, a few metres to the left or right of them, or fluffs his shots entirely. Even his penalties are being saved. His legendary bursts of speed and elusive runs into the box are missing; he is currently outpacing and outfoxing no one.
In fact, in the latest El Clasico — Madrid’s famed encounter with arch-rivals Barcelona — in October, Mbappe was caught offside eight times, the joint highest such tally by a La Liga player in 15 years.
At 18, Mbappe became the youngest player since Pele to score in a World Cup final. That was in 2018. In 2022, he became one of only two in the history of the game to score in two consecutive World Cup finals (the other was Brazil’s Vava, in 1958 and ’62).
And yet, since he joined Madrid in July, the 25-year-old has notched up some shockingly bad stats.
ESPN studied 12 of Mbappe’s La Liga games and found that he had taken more shots at goal than any other player in the league, with less than half on target. With his shots-to-goals ratio at just over 10%, he currently ranks below 47 other forwards in La Liga alone.
His assist numbers are no better, and his defensive stats have seemingly (hopefully?) hit rock bottom — in those 12 games, he made just one tackle, and no clearances, interceptions or blocks.
If fans are perplexed, it’s hard to imagine how he must feel. He has likely suffered from a devastating loss of confidence, and that can only make everything harder.
How did it get to this? There is one tactical explanation for at least some of the slide: the approach that helped Mbappe flourish, for France and former club PSG — using the left wing and cutting in towards goal — is the same one used by Madrid’s best attacking player today, Vinicius Junior. This has made it hard for the two men to work together effectively. This tactical overcrowding has affected Jude Bellingham too. Until Mbappe arrived at the club, he excelled in the forward position. Now at a more withdrawn position, Bellingham is struggling to have an impact.
Which brings us to a less-evident reason for Mbappe’s tribulations. After a brilliant 2023-24 in which Madrid won both the La Liga and Champions League, the team is very much in transition. Teething troubles are visible across the pitch, but particularly in midfield.
They are missing the exceptional passing, control and vision of Toni Kroos (now retired) and Luka Modric (now 39 and playing a limited role).
What will it take to turn things around? Perhaps, simply time.
Mbappe may take heart in the fact that fellow French footballer Karim Benzema’s career at Madrid began in a similar manner. For almost two years after he joined, at what was then a record transfer fee, Benzema struggled to make any impression. Booed by crowds, benched for most of his first season, and criticised for everything from weight gain to indiscipline and a perceived lack of interest, he started to turn things around in the last quarter of his second season.
He finished his career at Madrid a legend, second on the list of all-time top scorers of the club, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo. That was in 2023. Maybe 2025 will be Mbappe’s year.
(To reach Rudraneil Sengupta with feedback, email rudraneil@gmail.com)
Catch your daily dose...
See more
Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.
Share this article
Kylian Mbappe
La Liga
Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior
World Cup