With rumors of Kylian Mbappé heading to Real Madrid on a massive move, the question has to be asked: is the young Frenchman ready for the spotlight at Madrid? Let’s take a look.
Mbappé excelled last year at Monaco, but does he have what it takes to succeed in La Liga? While it may be true that Ligue 1 is not the most prestigious league, it is still a very good, and competitive one. Not only that, but Mbappé also excelled in the Champions League. So it is worth looking at his production in both competitions.
According to WhoScored, when in the starting lineup in Ligue 1 this past season for Monaco, Mbappé had a match rating of a whopping 7.8. That’s astounding and even better than commonly referred to World Class strikers Alexander Lacazette and Edinson Cavani.
As far as passing goes, Mbappé was both on par with Cavani and Lacazette for pass success percentage and key passes per game. Pretty good for an 18-year-old, especially in an area of the game like passing which is seen as his weakest.
Mbappé finished seventh in league scoring. That’s good in its own right. Now factor in him at least 400 fewer minutes than the six in front of him, and most of them over 1000 fewer minutes. That’s insane.
As far as assists go, Mbappé once again finishes on the first page of WhoScored, this time with eight which placed him in sixth. The thing is, he was only two off the league leader, Thomas Lemar, but played 1100 fewer minutes.
Mbappé also did his best work on the biggest stage, the UEFA Champions League. Mbappe averaged a goal a game in Europe, which saw him knock in six for Monaco. He also had an 83% pass completion percentage, very high for a striker. The kid gets it done in every competition.
Kylian has provided consistently for the Ligue 1 winning side, AS Monaco. Not only would he bring his skills and explosiveness to Madrid, but he is already a winner at such a young age. On top of his ability, the latter is another reason I feel like the kid is ready for a big move. Only time will tell, but I’d love to have him in white.
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