Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed a very impressive first season with Real Madrid on a personal point of view but all does not seem well at the Santiago Bernabeu after their Champions League exit
Sport Daniel Orme Football Writer 07:52, 21 Apr 2025

Real Madrid fans loudly BOOED Kylian Mbappe in their latest outing - despite the Frenchman not even playing. Following their Champions League exit, the Spanish giants were back in action against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Mbappe, 26, was not available for Real after being banned for a red card against Alaves a week ago. But that did not stop him from getting grief from supporters during the game.
Mbappe flashed up on a big screen at the Bernabeu mid-game, with loud boos audible when he appeared. It’s not the first time that he has been slammed over the past few days since Real’s Champions League exit against Arsenal - a match where he left the field injured and was again booed.
Legendary former AC Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi claimed he has barely played to his top form for Real Madrid this season, with the pressure cranking up on boss Carlo Ancelotti. Speaking to Gazzetta, he said: “Let’s look at his squad this season. He had many injuries, and he was forced to play many matches without a natural defender.
“They signed a striker [Mbappé] who was supposed to be a phenomenon, but didn’t play as such. I know the Real Madrid environment well, and I’m familiar with Florentino Perez because I worked as Real Madrid’s technical director. He is a great President, but he focuses on strikers too much. Just think that to convince him to sign Sergio Ramos, I had to fight for three months, because he doesn’t even look at defenders.”
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Former French international Jerome Rothen has also been critical, claiming Mbappe’s move to Spain has been a ‘failure’. He said: “People are talking about Kylian Mbappé.
“He arrived at his dream club with the ambition of winning every trophy, including the Champions League, and also of being among the best players in the world and winning the Ballon d'Or. Collectively and individually, he is a failure. He will not win the Ballon d'Or this year. He is a resounding failure.”
He added: “At the start of the season, mitigating factors were found. He could have had time to adapt, but when you're Mbappé, the adaptation time is shorter. He scored a lot of goals, but in the game he's catastrophic.”

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Mbappe has managed to score 32 goals for Real Madrid this season across what has been an impressive first season. But Real still managed to win without him at the weekend - Federico Valverde netting a stoppage-time winner against Athletic Bilbao. It leaves Ancelotti’s side sitting four points behind Barcelona in the race for the title with six games remaining.
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They will be aiming to reduce that gap in midweek as they take on Getafe - a game that Mbappe might be available for should he overcome an ankle issue.
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Florentino PérezJerome RothenCarlo AncelottiArrigo SacchiChampions LeagueReal Madrid CFKylian Mbappe