After a successful night on France duty, captain Kylian Mbappe could not escape the recent disappointing results of Real Madrid before the international break. The 26-year-old was asked to respond to talk of a rift between some of Los Blancos’ star players and manager Xabi Alonso.
Results have been good so far at the Bernabeu for Alonso six months into his tenure as a coach, with Real Madrid leading La Liga and winning three of their four games in the Champions League. Yet recent weeks have been dominated by headlines of malcontent in the Real Madrid dressing room.
Speaking after France beat Ukraine 4-0 on Thursday night, Mbappe was dismissive of such talk.
“What do you want me to say? I have nothing to say. At Real Madrid, when you don’t win games, people talk a lot. Too much. That’s just how it is,” he told Cadena Cope, as quoted by Diario AS.
‘We’re united to win titles’ – Mbappe
He went on to acknowledge the stifling pressure at the Bernabeu, but defended Real Madrid’s form, and claimed that they were united.
“We haven’t won two games. We know that. We’ve played very badly. But we’re going to come back after the break to win against Elche. We’re top of the league, we’re in the top eight in the Champions League. It’s not perfect, of course, sure.”
“You know better than I do that at Real Madrid, when things aren’t working on the pitch, people try to do a lot of things… We’re united to win every title this year.”
On Friday, Mbappe left the France camp with an ankle injury, and will be assessed by Real Madrid’s medical department.
Talk of discontent with Alonso
The public outburst from Vinicius Junior towards his manager during El Clasico was taken as tip of the iceberg at Valdebebas, with several senior players questioning his treatment of stars. Some were seemingly unhappy with Alonso’s decision to expose Trent Alexander-Arnold to the Anfield ire against Liverpool for the final few minutes, feeling it made little sense. Others reports claim that his treatment of players is cold.
While it is difficult to sift towards the truth, it certainly feels a long way removed from two years 18 months ago, when off the back of a Champions League and La Liga double, Carlo Ancelotti declared it the healthiest dressing room he had ever had. The local media will be keeping a microscopic eye on Alonso’s interactions with his players over the coming months.
