Mbappe has peaked – it’s all downhill from here for Real Madrid star

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 7 Sep 2024 07:49 CDT
• 5 min read

Kylian Mbappe may only be 25 and approaching what are traditionally the peak years of a career, yet the Real Madrid and France star may need to start fronting up to the fact that his best seasons are behind him.

Mbappe made the move from PSG to the Bernabeu in the summer amid much fanfare, but despite scoring three times in five games for Los Blancos, his has not been a dream start in the Spanish capital. Before netting a double against Real Betis in a 2-0 victory, the Spanish press had tentatively started to round on him.

Back home in Paris, where he had burned bridges, he turned in an insipid display as France were beaten 3-1 by Italy at PSG’s Parc des Princes home.

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Current ETV

Kylian Mbappé

F (C)

Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappé

F (C)

Real Madrid

€153.9M

ETV Range

€115.4M - €192.4M

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Branded “unfit and disillusioned” by an unforgiving media, for Tuesday’s Nation’s League clash against Belgium, the captain of Les Bleus faces the embarrassment of being dropped to the bench.

“I’m at a stage in my life and my career where I don’t notice the criticism anymore,” Mbappe, who is the most valuable footballer in the world with an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €153.9 million, told the media before the match.

“I come, I play, I try to do my best and to help the team. What people think is the least of my worries.”

READ MORE: Latest Real Madrid transfer rumours

It was greeted by disdain by prominent French pundit Daniel Riolo, who said: “Either he is lying or he is stupid.

“The captain of France can’t speak like Mbappe.

“If you say that, quit playing football because the stadium is full of people who have come to think and experience emotions.”

His performance against the Azzurri only gave ammunition to his growing number of critics.

Mbappe's ceiling lowered

Of course, it is unfair to judge Mbappe purely on events of the last month. Leaving PSG for Real Madrid was always liable to be a testing move, particularly off the back of virtually no pre-season due to Euro 2024.

Warning signs, though, have been there for months if you cared to look.

Mbappe will get back fitter and in better shape than he is currently in, yet will we ever see the quality of the star who scored 39 or more goals in five of the last six seasons?

It seems almost sacrilege to doubt him, yet he faces being used in a role he does not enjoy for the foreseeable future.

Carlo Ancelotti is using Mbappe as a centre-forward in Madrid, while Didier Deschamps is now using him in that role for France due to the emergence of Bradley Barcola – the young man who has picked up his mantle at PSG and is undoubtedly the most in-form for French attacker right now.

Luis Enrique used Mbappe as a centre-forward last season at PSG. There is no doubt the player was a shadow of what he might have been, despite scoring 44 goals. In the second half of the campaign, in particular, his performances were average.

What are the prospects of change? Limited.

Vinicius Junior currently occupies the left flank for Real Madrid, doing so with such distinction that he has earned a place as one of the Ballon d’Or favourites for this season. The Brazilian is more ill-suited to playing as a No.9 than Mbappe, who can perform the task to a high level, but not to the devastating effect that he offers out wide.

Rumours have been abounding that Vini Jr could move to the Saudi Pro League due to his disillusionment over LaLiga’s flagrant racism problem and a lack of support from within the club, notably from captain Dani Carvajal.

That is not a deal Madrid will want to make. The 24-year-old has developed into perhaps football’s premier clutch player in recent seasons.

So with Vinicius occupying the left flank, all that’s left for Mbappe is playing through the middle.

Sure, he’ll continue to score goals prolifically and likely pick up a string of glittering team honours too, but the devastating individual impact that he can have on the game will be curtailed, his ceiling having been lowered by what appears to be a permanent change of role.

Now the question that remains is simple: how long can his ego handle it?