'Kylian Mbappe should have signed for Man Utd'

Tom Weber

Updated: 25 Nov 2024 08:16 CST
3 min read

Cyril Linette, a presidential candidate for French football's governing body, believes that Kylian Mbappe should have moved to Manchester United over Real Madrid.

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The 25-year-old fulfilled his lifelong ambition of joining Los Blancos in the summer after a transfer saga that spanned several years. Things haven't exactly gone to plan for Mbappe, though.

The Frenchman has struggled to fit into the same side as Vinicius Jr, who usually occupies his favoured left-wing position. Against Leganes, however, manager Carlo Ancelotti made the call to switch their positions, with the Brazilian playing centrally and Mbappe out wide.

It was a decision that paid off with the well-rested Mbappe looking more comfortable in his natural environment and Vinicius Jr impressing in a position with a reduced workload after his international duty with Brazil.

"Playing on the outside is more tiring than through the middle," Ancelotti said. "Vini Jr returned from international duty on Thursday and Mbappe was fresher than Vini Jr. He scored a goal with a fantastic assist from Vini Jr. They're both improving bit by bit."

'Mbappe should have joined Man Utd'

It remains to be seen if Ancelotti is bold enough to stick with this setup or if Mbappe will eventually have to revert to playing at centre-forward. This conundrum is one that Real Madrid and Mbappe could easily have avoided, according to Cyril Linette.

The former L'Equipe CEO, who recently lost the presidential election for the LFP, French football's governing body, believes that Mbappe made a mistake by joining Los Blancos.

“I’m not saying that Mbappe is heading towards failure but he joined a club where, in his position, there is a player at least as good as he is," he told RMC. "It makes no sense.

"He will have spent his whole career playing at clubs where there is a left winger at least as good as him, with Neymar at PSG and Vinicius Jr at Real.

“He could have gone to England, tried to get Man Utd going again, for example. There, he could have played in his position and could have written a great story.

"I don’t see what exceptional things he can achieve at Real, who have already done everything without him."