Mbappe 'struggling mentally' after Mourinho 'dressing-down' at Real Madrid

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Tom Weber | Writer

A rift between Jose Mourinho and Kylian Mbappe appears to be emerging at Real Madrid after the latter challenged his manager's authority with a cheeky social media post.

The France international has been a divisive figure at Real Madrid ever since he joined the club in 2024, following a years-long transfer saga during which he made plenty of enemies.

Despite being the club's most productive attacking player in recent seasons, Mbappe has struggled to win over the fanbase. In fact, large sections of supporters would rather see him gone. Last season, a petition calling for the 27-year-old to be sold garnered millions of signatures.

Mbappe has mostly taken this in stride and frequently makes self-deprecating jokes when speaking to the media. He is well aware of his public perception and fuels it with his - often ironic - social media posts. Sometimes, however, he takes things too far or fails to read the room.

This was the case recently when he claimed that he wants to win the Ballon d'Or for the Real Madrid fans, failing to recognise that they couldn't care less about his personal accolades; they want the club's trophy drought, which coincided with his arrival, to end.

Mbappe's Mourinho rift

Now, Mbappe once again finds himself in the firing line. Last week, after leaving the France camp with an injury and being spotted outside of a Paris nightclub, the forward shared a video of himself cycling in Switzerland. This seemingly innocuous social media post has caused a major stir.

That's because Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho insisted last month that he does not want his players to ski or ride bicycles for fear of injury. "A player can't ski in the mountains, he can't ride a bicycle," the Portuguese insisted.

"It has to do with the importance you give to your work. If you fall off a bicycle, you might miss three games. Or worse, you could break a leg, or maybe just get a cut, but that prevents you from being at your best level."

In light of Mourinho's comments, Mbappe's video has been interpreted as a direct challenge to the manager's authority. The Frenchman seemingly does not want the 63-year-old to control his life.

Moreover, it has been claimed that Mbappe is unhappy with Real Madrid's failure to adequately support his Ballon d'Or campaign. He hit back at this suggestion on social media by joking that he had also fallen out with his great-aunt over her lack of support.

However, reports in Spain suggest that Mbappe's actions have not gone down well, particularly with Mourinho. Pipi Estrada, speaking on El Chiringuito, claimed that the manager gave his star striker a "dressing-down" over breakfast on Tuesday.

Estrada asserts that Mourinho called out Mbappe's cheek for posting that video and added: "Outside, I'll defend you when questioned, but here, no, I won't defend you."

Still recovering from his injury, the Frenchman did not train with the squad after Mourinho's criticism. Instead, he spent the rest of the day in Paris with Real Madrid's permission before returning to Spain in the evening.

Mbappe "not doing well mentally"

French journalist Daniel Riolo, speaking on After Foot, believes that the situation might be quite serious. While El Chiringuito is often dismissed as being more entertainment than journalism, Riolo thinks that the show's host, Josep Pedrerol, is a mouthpiece for Florentino Perez and his comments therefore carry weight.

He comes to the conclusion that when Pedrerol "leaks" incidents from the training ground or makes statements such as suggesting that Mbappe is losing the support of Real Madrid's supporters, it is a clear message from Perez.

"He's right in what he says, but if he says it, it means Real Madrid wants to send him a message," Riolo explains. "The bicycle incident is just the tip of the iceberg."

The bicycle situation raises a broader question about Mbappe's commitment to his career, Riolo suggests. "I've started to wonder: does Mbappe still have the desire? What does he want? It seems like he wakes up every morning thinking, 'I'm going to shoot myself in the foot.' He can't keep making mistakes like this."

Another piece of evidence to support this theory, at least in Riolo's mind, is Mbappe's absence from France games after pulling out of the squad. "How many international players have we seen supporting their team? I'm not saying he has to go to every away game, but [Monday] at the Stade de France, all the greats were there, the French football family reunited.

"I'm not saying it's mandatory, but he has the right to do something, rather than sending this message that says, 'I don't give a damn what you think.' There's a limit to that. Why not send a positive message?

"Come to the Stade de France: 'No, I don't want to.' Stay in Madrid: 'No, I don't want to.' Don't show up outside a nightclub: 'No, I don't want to.' Don't go cycling if Mourinho doesn't want you to: 'No, I don't want to.' Stop! You're going too far. Stop!"

To Riolo, these are indications that Mbappe is "not doing well mentally." Recalling the France captain's recent spat with Ousmane Dembele, he said: "I get the impression that he's not doing well mentally. When you watch him at the World Cup, everything's fine.

"He's with his friends, he's having a great time, he's projecting a fantastic image. Then, the Ballon d'Or obsession makes him make this statement. You upset one of your friends, it's a shame to do it, but you do it. There was an explanation, but not really a good one. Stop! You're just giving your haters more ammunition.

"The fact that no one in his circle is telling him this leads me to conclude that he's not doing well. His personal life has changed [a reference to his relationship with Ester Exposito], he has the right to be in love, but does he want something else?

"Football is tiring him out. Everything happening around him, the expectations, are exhausting him, especially now that he's making such a dramatic change of sponsor [dropping Nike for On].

"I don't understand how he's managing himself or who these people are who are actually thinking things through around him. I don't understand what he wants to do, this attitude, this withdrawal from everyone."

Riolo believes that Mbappe's actions, paired with Pedrerol's comments, could result in Mbappe leaving Real Madrid sooner than anticipated, potentially as early as next summer. "Let's not rule out a departure at the end of the season," he said.

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Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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