Tag: Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid in search of Champions League glory, hoping to be on the right side of exactly the kind of magical night they need against Arsenal tonight if they are to progress to the semi-finals.

The Gunners lead 3-0 after dismantling the holders in London last week in the quarter-final first leg, leaving Madrid craving the sort of dramatic comeback the 15-time winners are renowned for.

Returning from a three-goal defeat would be step further than anything Los Blancos have managed so far, but that is precisely why they tried to lure Mbappe to the club for years.

The French superstar’s explosive edge gives Madrid hope of achieving what appears to be borderline impossible.

“Of course we can,” said Mbappe on his way out of the Emirates last Tuesday, heading to the team bus after Arsenal’s stunning victory.

Declan Rice struck two sublime free-kicks and Mikel Merino’s third helped Mikel Arteta’s side put one foot in the final four.

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Arsenal will be fully aware the job is not yet complete, having seen Mbappe’s devastating impact against Premier League champions Manchester City earlier this season.

Mbappe netted a hat-trick against Pep Guardiola’s side in February at the Santiago Bernabeu in the play-off round, helping Madrid eliminate City 6-3 on aggregate.

The striker was sent off for a wild challenge against Alaves in La Liga on Sunday, putting his team-mates under pressure, but can make it up to them with a special performance at the Santiago Bernabeu against Arsenal.

Madrid scraped a 1-0 win and Mbappe only played 38 minutes before his dismissal, so he should be fresh tonight.

Mbappe has 33 goals in 49 games across all competitions this season, matching Madrid’s all-time top goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally in his first season at the club.

Mbappe failed to lift the Champions League trophy with Paris Saint-Germain during his seven seasons at the club and in 2022, was on the sharp end of a spectacular Real Madrid comeback.

PSG led 1-0 from the last 16 first leg, with Mbappe on target, and he netted his second goal of the tie to give the French side the lead at the Bernabeu.

It sparked Real Madrid into life and a remarkable 17-minute Karim Benzema hat-trick turned the tie around and powered Los Blancos into the quarter-finals, on the way to lifting the trophy.

Mbappe said his treble against Man City was exactly the kind of night he was craving.

“I’ve been dreaming of moments like this since I was a kid, to play for this club and to feel what it’s like on a big night at the Bernabeu,” said the Frenchman.“A lot of people have told me about it, but now I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and I hope we’ll have many more.”

In 2022 Madrid made a stunning comeback to beat Man City despite trailing 5-3 on aggregate in the final minutes of the semi-final second leg, progressing 6-5 in the end.

Perhaps their most important comeback came in the 2014 final against rivals Atletico, trailing 1-0 until Sergio Ramos headed home in the 93rd minute to force extra-time, with Los Blancos winning 4-1 to claim ‘La Decima’, their 10th Champions League trophy.

They also overcame a 2-0 quarter-final first leg deficit against Wolfsburg in 2016, winning the second leg 3-0 with a Ronaldo hat-trick.

Mbappe would dearly love to emulate the Portuguese forward’s feat against Arsenal.

“At the Santiago Bernabeu, comebacks are always on everyone’s lips,” said Ronaldo.

Madrid and comebacks have been synonymous since the 1980s when winger Juanito was involved in several, including the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1985.

“90 minutes at the Bernabeu is a long time,” he warned Inter Milan after the hosts won the first leg 2-0 in Italy, with Madrid going on to triumph 3-0 on their way to glory.

Mbappe came to Madrid to add to their rich history and Arsenal’s visit presents the ideal opportunity.

“We have to believe, we have to have confidence,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti last week. “Because sometimes, quite often at the Bernabeu, it happens.”

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has unleashed a legal offensive against Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to obtain the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses he says his former club owes him.

The Judicial Court of Paris has given the green light for the funds to be seized from PSG and protectively frozen while the case is heard, his legal team said at a press conference.

A court hearing in the increasingly bitter dispute is scheduled for May 26.

The lawyers also announced that Mbappe would take his case to the labour court as part of a wider case brought by French players’ union (UNFP).

The union lodged a complaint with the labour court a year ago claiming players who refused to agree new contracts were being sidelined at their clubs, a practice Mbappe believes was employed against him when he was not selected by PSG at the start of the 2023-2024 season.

“We’re going on the attack,” Mbappe’s lawyer Delphine Verheyden said at a press conference.

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“This is just an employee against a bad payer,” Verheyden added. “Kylian Mbappe is determined to enforce his rights, not just for himself but for all the other players” who believe they have been wronged by their clubs.”

Mbappe is also suing for defamation, targeting online stories that he claims were planted by PSG.

A PSG spokesperson dismissed the claims as “a fanciful tale from a parallel universe” but said the club would still like to find “an amicable solution”.

A club official, speaking anonymously, told AFP it had “no problem” in fighting the case at the labour court and said Mbappe “is not going to win”.

The origin of the dispute can be traced back to an agreement in August 2023, when Mbappe was frozen out of the PSG squad for refusing to extend his contract.

An extension would have allowed PSG to receive a transfer fee if Mbappe then departed before the end of his contract, but instead he left for nothing under freedom of contract rules and signed for Real in June 2024.

Under the agreement, Mbappe said he would waive 55 million euros in various bonuses if he departed for free at the end of last season.

But the validity of the agreement is contested by the player’s entourage. They describe it as a “hidden agreement”.

The sum Mbappe is claiming he is owed is comprised of the last third of a signing-on fee, of 36 million euros gross, which he was supposed to receive in February, as well as his last three months’ salary from last season and a bonus covering the same period.

Kylian Mbappe’s father Wilfrid Mbappe and mother Fayza Lamari attend a press conference given by their son’s legal team on Thursday

PSG’s owners Qatar Sports Investments have deep funds but regardless of whether they win the case, the 55 million euros will be inaccessible until the case is resolved, which could take several years.

It is a considerable chunk of the 800-million-euro annual budget of a club that won its 11th French league title in 13 seasons last weekend and is poised to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 3-1 win against Aston Villa in the first leg of the quarter-final on Wednesday.

Mbappe spent seven years at PSG, scoring 256 goals in 308 games.

After a shaky start in Madrid, he has hit a run of form, scoring 22 goals in La Liga and seven in the Champions League so far this season.

After a rather uncharacteristically slow start, Kylian Mbappe has come into his own at Real Madrid in recent months, showcasing his quality with each passing match.

The French superstar enjoyed a brilliant run in January, scoring eight goals in nine matches across all competitions, which has now earned him the club’s Player of the Month award.

After receiving the award, Mbappe spoke with the club’s official media, expressing gratitude to everyone who voted for him.

“It’s always a pleasure. I want to thank everyone for voting for me. January was a great month for the team, with a lot of games, and we hope to continue like that this month,” said the Frenchman.

Continuing, he added: “At Real Madrid every month is important. We know what we have to do and always with humility. We have to give everything for this badge”

The Frenchman also reflected on Real Madrid’s recent win against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League and insisted the team must keep on winning.

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“I feel good with my teammates and I’ve scored goals. We had an important game on Wednesday that we had to win and we did,” he noted.

“We are leaders in La Liga, we have to play the second leg here in the Champions League and in the Copa in the semi-finals. We have to keep going.”

So far in his first season at Real Madrid, Mbappe has scored 24 and assisted four goals from 36 appearances in all competitions, with one hat-trick to his name which came in January against Real Valladolid.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe has been in inspired form with four goals in their last three games and said it took him longer than expected to play like his old self after moving from Paris St Germain as he adjusted to a new team.

Mbappe added that the most difficult challenge since arriving at the Bernabeu in the close season was overthinking and not focusing his efforts in the right direction.

The 26-year-old said Real’s 2-1 LaLiga defeat at Athletic Bilbao in early December, when the forward missed his second penalty in a week, was a turning point.

“I believe it was a mentality issue and that was a point I realised that I had to work harder,” Mbappe told a press conference ahead of  today’s Champions League clash at home to Salzburg.

“I was thinking too much about how to do things. Whether to go into space, whether to go to Vini’s (Vinicius Jr’s) area of the pitch, to Rodrygo’s area … when you overthink you don’t focus on your game.

“I was fine physically and with the group but I knew I had to do more, that was the time to change the situation. I didn’t come to Madrid to play badly. Here we have to play well all the time and now I am ready to do that.

“I felt bad because I’m a player who always wants to do more and when you don’t perform in that level it’s normal to get targeted. I knew that it could happen and in the end it was a good moment because after that game I changed my mentality.

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“I couldn’t do any worse, so when you hit rock bottom you can only go up,” he added.

Having scored only three times in Real’s 12 matches in all competitions up to and including the Bilbao game, Mbappe has since found his shooting boots and now has 12 LaLiga goals – to stand second in the scoring charts – and 17 overall.

“When you’re a player like me, with everything that was expected of me, it’s normal that people talk. But for me it’s not something personal, you have to be calm and focus on your game. I knew I could change the situation and I did,” he said.

“I’m never going to be a shy player. But when a player like me arrives at Madrid he has to come with humility.

“It’s not shyness, I can’t arrive here and demand. I came with maximum respect and it’s good that every day that goes by I have more importance in the team.

“My objective is to play my best game for Madrid in every game, to do better. I have the feeling that I can do better, I have it in my legs. I’m the kind of player who needs this pressure and who needs to do more.”

Real are 20^th  in the 36-team Champions League table on nine points, four points off the top eight spots that secure direct qualification to the last 16. Salzburg are 32nd on three points, five points adrift of the playoff places.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes his French striker Kylian Mbappe needs “love and support” after yet another goalless performance for his Spanish club in the UEFA Champions League.

Former Paris Saint-Germain player Mbappe had hoped his move to Real Madrid would finally end his wait to win the Champions League but it felt a long way off on Wednesday after a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool left the defending champions in danger of being eliminated from European club football’s elite tournament at the first stage.

If Madrid do make an early exit, Mbappe may look back on a miserable night at Anfield where he was humbled by a young defender and then missed a penalty that would have levelled the score.

Ancelotti said afterwards the star forward was going through a “difficult moment” just months after he joined the record 15-time European champion.

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“We’ve got to give him our support and love and he will soon be fine,” Ancelotti said as he faced multiple questions from Spanish reporters about Mbappe’s form. “It could be lack of confidence maybe. Sometimes when moments in the game and things are not working out, the idea is to keep things simple. Don’t complicate things.

 “He’s going through that moment now. You get through them. Don’t blame him for missing a penalty. People miss penalties. We can’t put too much grief on him for that.”

World Cup winner Mbappe looked a shadow of himself against a Liverpool team that led the way in the English Premier League and the Champions League this season.

He was brought crashing down by a crunching tackle from 21-year-old right back Conor Bradley when threatening to burst through on goal in the first half – prompting a huge cheer from the home crowd.

And it got worse for Mbappe in the second half when he had the chance to make it 1-1 from the penalty spot after Alexis Mac Allister had given six-time European champion Liverpool the lead. But with Caoimhin Kelleher to beat, he saw his effort pushed away by Liverpool’s backup goalkeeper.

Mbappe has scored nine goals in 18 appearances for Madrid since leaving PSG as a free agent at the end of last season. But he has only one goal in the Champions League for his new club, who have lost three of their five games in the revamped competition.

“Things are not running for him. We’ve got to be patient. He is an extraordinary player – a fantastic player,” Ancelotti said.

Madrid are 24^th  in the new-look 36-team league phase of the competition.

The top eight teams advance to the round of 16, while those ranked ninth to 24th go into a playoff.

Mbappe wasn’t the only player to fail to score a penalty in the match, with Mohamed Salah also missing a spot kick of his own. But substitute Cody Gakpo doubled Liverpool’s advantage.

Victory saw new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot manage something his predecessor Jurgen Klopp never could by beating Real in the Champions League. Klopp lost five and drew once in six games against Madrid – including two defeats in the final.

Liverpool extended their perfect record in the Champions League this season and is top of the standings after five games.

Each team plays eight games in the opening phase.

Madrid play Atalanta next month and Liverpool face Girona.

Real Madrid fans rallied around star striker Kylian Mbappe as the France captain battles a media frenzy linking him to a rape investigation in Sweden.

Swedish prosecutors on Tuesday confirmed an investigation had been launched – without naming Mbappe following an alleged rape at a plush Stockholm hotel on October 10.

Media in Sweden had reported the French superstar was the target of the probe following his two-day visit to the capital last week, which Mbappe and his lawyer have denied.

For Juan Castro, a 72-year-old Real Madrid supporter, the press reports are merely “fake news “that “make no sense”.

 “He’s a pretty intelligent person who has lots of ability, he isn’t going to make a mistake as stupid as this,” the pensioner told AFP outside the club’s Bernabeu stadium.

Fellow retiree Marcelino Alvarez connected the rumours to Mbappe’s acrimonious departure from and ongoing wrangling with former club Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe says the French giants owe him 55 million euros ($60 million) in unpaid wages and linked the media reports to this week’s hearing in the case.

 “This was an opportunity to attack Mbappe. All this comes from PSG, from filth… Hoaxes must be proven,” said Alvarez, 88.

“All this is a set-up, because Kylian Mbappe is very famous,” added Jorge Costa Laberia, a 58-year-old former fisherman.

Yssouf Soumahoro, a 42-year-old civil administrator visiting the Spanish capital from Ivory Coast, admitted the news was “surprising” but remained cautious as justice takes its course.

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 “As Real Madrid fans, we trust him. We think he’s right,” he told AFP.

Although Swedish authorities have not confirmed Mbappe’s involvement in the alleged rape, the media storm has disappointed some Merengues supporters, including 18-year-old student Mateo Baez.

 “It seems a very disgusting incident and the club should intervene in the matter, because this cannot happen,” he said. “It’s very serious that he’s accused. For that reason I don’t back him, it seems really bad.”

Celia Mejia, 28, conceded the affair had spoiled her trip to Madrid from the north western region of Asturias, even if nothing had been proven.

 “If it’s true that Mbappe did that, he should be punished… Being a big fan of the team, coming here, it disappoints us massively,” said the care worker.

Real Madrid fans voted Mbappe their player of the month for September, with the striker saying he was “very happy” in a video shared by the club.

Kylian Mbappe’s entourage said on Wednesday they had refused the French football league’s (LFP) offer to act as a mediator between the France captain and Paris Saint-Germain in their dispute over unpaid wages and bonuses for the striker.

Mbappe claims PSG owe him 55 million euros ($60.6m) which the Parisians say the 25-year-old had agreed to waive in August 2023.

The Real Madrid forward has demanded the sum, which includes a signing bonus he was expecting to receive in February, the three final months of his salary, as well as an “ethical bonus” covering the period.

Lawyers representing the two parties met early on Wednesday after Mbappe, who joined Madrid this summer, had referred his case to the LFP’s legal committee.

The league then offered to mediate.

 “The eventuality of a mediation was mentioned this morning,” Mbappe’s entourage told AFP in a statement. “This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player’s representative.

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 “A mediation would be useless to establish a lack of payment that can be seen from a simple analysis of the player’s payslip.”

The LFP told AFP it would notify Mbappe and PSG of its decision in the case on Friday.

Earlier in the day, PSG had welcomed the proposition.

 “Paris Saint-Germain is very pleased with today’s two-hour hearing before the commission,” PSG said.

 “The club recalled that the player has made clear repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris.

 “In the light of the club’s oral and documented arguments, the commission insisted on mediation between the parties, which Paris Saint-Germain has been seeking for many months.” our players better.”