Kylian Mbappé reported for Real Madrid training a day earlier than scheduled on Monday, but the gesture has done little to calm tensions around the French forward, according to L'Équipe.
The 27-year-old was meant to be resting a knee injury picked up in France's opening Nations League match against Turkey. Instead, he was first spotted at a nightclub in Paris and then posted photographs on social media of himself cycling in Switzerland. VG reports that many Real Madrid supporters and Spanish media outlets view the sequence of events as unprofessional.
A source inside the club told L'Équipe that Mbappé still has not grasped how Real Madrid operates. The source said the player receives very poor advice and that the situation damages everyone involved, both Mbappé and the club.
Why it matters
The episode lands at a delicate moment for Real Madrid. After a strong start to the season, the club lost two matches just before the international break — 0-1 against Real Betis and 1-2 against Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid now sits six points behind rival Barcelona, which has won all seven of its LaLiga fixtures.
Against that backdrop, scrutiny of Mbappé's conduct away from the pitch carries extra weight. According to Marca, he is also facing internal criticism on two fronts: for not yet winning either LaLiga or the Champions League despite scoring 94 goals in 111 appearances, and for appearing to put personal interests — such as his candidacy for the 2025/26 Ballon d'Or, which is awarded on 26 October — ahead of the team's.
Criticism from France and questions about his future
The French journalist Daniel Riolo, speaking on RMC Sport's programme "After Foot," did not hold back. He said it seems as though Mbappé wakes up each morning thinking about shooting himself in the foot, and argued the player cannot keep accumulating mistakes in this way. Riolo did not rule out the possibility that Mbappé could leave Real Madrid after the season.
That speculation connects to a broader thread of reporting around the player. One outlet, Vietnam.vn, has circulated rumours that Mbappé is preparing to leave Real Madrid for the Premier League. A French journalist, described as energetic, is said to be convinced that Liverpool will be his next destination, per Sporten.com. Another report from the same outlet questions whether anyone would genuinely pay 250 million euros for him.
There has also been a reported confrontation with José Mourinho, covered by Sportsbibelen under the headline "I will defend you out there, but not here." The details of that exchange are not established in the material available.
What to watch
Mbappé's early return to training suggests an attempt to quiet the noise, but the internal and external criticism shows no sign of fading. How Real Madrid handles the situation — and whether the forward's form and the team's results shift — will determine whether this remains a disciplinary story or becomes something larger.
