Kylian Mbappe has attracted the ire of the press in the Spanish capital, which is not entirely new, but it seems Real Madrid are not altogether happy with him either. The France captain left Madrid for a third time this season while recovering from injury, this time with the team in a delicate situation.
As Real Madrid were kicking off against Espanyol on Sunday night, paparazzi captured images of Mbappe arriving back in Spain on a private jet with girlfriend Ester Exposito. A scene that has not gone down well at all with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez. Asked about it after their win over Los Pericos, Arbeloa said that he was free to do as he pleased in his spare time.
“All the planning for injured players is overseen and managed by Real Madrid’s medical staff, who control when players need to go to Valdebebas and when they don’t. Beyond that, each player does what they deem appropriate in their free time, and I can’t interfere in that,” he told Marca.
Directly or indirectly, five of the six questions that Arbeloa was asked were about Mbappe and commitment, the other being about Vinicius Junior’s performance. The Brazilian is being directly compared with Mbappe, with debate rife over who should be the main star at the club.
“I have no doubt about the commitment of any of my players. I think they all know how important these matches are for us. There has never been, there isn’t, and there never will be a bigger club than Real Madrid, and I think all my players understand this perfectly, what they represent, where they are, and how lucky they all are to be here.”
‘To win any match, you need the commitment of every player’
One of the frustrations with Mbappe, and Vinicius for that matter, has been the lack of work-rate from their forwards, something that Arbeloa referenced during his press conference. He was asked if Vinicius was more committed than Mbappe.
“I don’t make comparisons between players. We need everyone. To win any match, you need the commitment of every player. It hurts me when we see that all the other teams run more than us, not only when we don’t have the ball, but also when we do. We need everyone’s commitment to press, to defend, to attack.”
‘We didn’t build Real Madrid with players in tuxedos’
More generally, it was put to him that perhaps Los Blanccos did not have the collective commitment necessary. Mbappe, having been pictured in a suit during his trips abroad, must finish the game covered in sweat in order to appease Arbeloa.
“Talent alone isn’t enough. I like to see players understand that commitment is important and that they truly embody Real Madrid’s values. We didn’t build Real Madrid with players who take to the pitch in tuxedos, but with players who finish the game with their shirts covered in sweat, mud, effort, sacrifice, and perseverance. When talent combines with commitment and effort, that’s what makes us the best team in the world.”
These comments have not gone unnoticed in Spain, and many of the media close to Real Madrid are taking them as indirect messages to Mbappe. The 26-year-old was signed to be the leader of Real Madrid for the coming years in their bid to continue delivering Champions Leagues, but as noted by Cadena Cope, there is some disillusionment with Mbappe’s leadership abilities in that regard.
