Kylian Mbappe’s position at Real Madrid is becoming an issue of conduct and commitment as well as goals, with growing concern among supporters that even Jose Mourinho has been unable to bring the France forward fully under control.
The club’s official line remains that Mbappe has its approval for everything he does. That explanation, however, is no longer convincing Real Madrid fans, who believe the striker increasingly operates independently of the team and, at times, France.
Mbappe arrived in the summer of 2024 as the final piece of the side that had won a 15th Champions League title. He has delivered exceptional scoring figures, but those goals have not brought a major trophy or made Real Madrid a better team. Several players have appeared to regress, including Vinicius Junior, who is now a long way from the form that nearly earned him the Ballon d’Or.
The latest criticism concerns Mbappe’s recovery from an injury sustained during a match against Turkey. While his team-mates followed rehabilitation programmes at Valdebebas, Mbappe underwent medical checks lasting less than 30 minutes at the club’s facilities the following day before continuing his recovery remotely. The arrangement was interpreted as a clear misunderstanding and drew sharp criticism in Madrid’s media and on social media.
The controversy intensified on Sunday when videos showed Mbappe riding a bicycle. Mourinho had warned professional players days earlier: “You cannot ride a bicycle.” Although the Portuguese manager was speaking generally and was not addressing Mbappe specifically, the timing renewed questions about the forward’s professionalism.
One social-media post quoted Mourinho as saying 10 days earlier that a footballer could miss three matches or break a leg by falling from a bicycle. The post then sarcastically told Mbappe to “keep going Kiki”, while saying he deserved to earn more than Vinicius and Jude Bellingham.
Mourinho’s main challenge is to find the best version of a partnership between Mbappe and Vinicius, something his predecessors failed to achieve. But the change of manager has not ended the debate. Supporters want qualities that statistics cannot measure: commitment, leadership and the ability to behave like a genuine captain during difficult moments.
That expectation echoes Mbappe’s much-repeated message to Raul Asencio: “You are a Real Madrid player around the clock.” Many fans believe that principle is being demanded only from players lower down the club’s hierarchy.
A history of controversy
The concerns began soon after Mbappe’s arrival. In October 2024, he was seen at a nightclub in Stockholm during an international break in which he had been left out of the France squad because of a muscular injury.
Last March, he travelled to Paris to consult a specialist about his knee while Real Madrid were involved in their own commitments. Images of dinners with his partner overshadowed the medical purpose of the trip. Reports then claimed the club’s medical staff had examined the wrong knee, a suggestion Mbappe rejected publicly on 25 March: “The information that they examined the wrong knee is untrue.” He acknowledged, however, that poor communication had contributed to the misunderstanding.
In May, photographs of Mbappe and his partner on a yacht in Sardinia during a break caused by another muscular injury created further embarrassment. His team-mates were attempting to delay Barcelona’s title celebrations before a crucial Clasico, reviving accusations that he disappears in important moments.
He missed the Copa del Rey elimination by Albacete in January, in the first match of Arbeloa’s spell, and the game on 10 May. After the match against Oviedo on 14 May, he said Arbeloa had told him he was the fourth-choice striker; the manager denied that account. Mbappe was also booed by sections of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd during the match against Alaves on 21 April, following European elimination by Bayern Munich.
On 7 September, he questioned why only he and Vinicius were criticised for their defensive work, underlining that the dispute has not disappeared.
Real Madrid host Villarreal on Saturday, 10 October, after the international break and following a derby defeat. Mbappe’s involvement remains uncertain as he recovers, but if he plays, his return will provide a significant test of his relationship with a support base that has shown it will not ignore concerns over his commitment.
