Real Madrid fans are noticing something different about Kylian Mbappe this summer. It is obviously way too early to tell and the real games in La Liga have not yet started, but, already, the optimism in the air around Jose Mourinho coming back to the Santiago Bernabeu seems like it just might be bearing fruit with regards to the primary reason why Florentino Perez hired the Chosen One to begin with: Mr. Mbappe.
While Mbappe was the leading goal scorer at the 2026 World Cup and had the whole world singing his praises, he, once again, failed to win the big one and came up short in the pivotal match against Spain in the semifinals. And he is obviously coming off a season in which Real Madrid failed to win a single trophy again, whereas his old club, PSG, captured consecutive Champions League titles to step closer to Real Madrid's record.
Mbappe struggled to score, connect with teammates, and work for the team. All the problems Luis Enrique warned about came true, and it got so toxic that Mbappe eventually broke his mask and threw his teammates and manager Alvaro Arbeloa under the bus in an ugly post game tirade after Gonzalo Garcia's big game against Real Oviedo at the end of the 2025/26 La Liga season.
Jose Mourinho is putting Kylian Mbappe to work
Everyone wants to know how Jose Mourinho can get Kylian Mbappe to change and become a team player, and while it was a preseason game against Schalke, perhaps the fact that it was a preseason game against Schalke - in which Vinicius Junior himself was barely trying, too - that makes it all the more impressive.
But Real Madrid fans are noticing an even more physically fit Mbappe on the field, and they are noticing an even more active and athletic Mbappe, particularly in terms of defensive work rate and pressing.
Against the returning Bundesliga giants, Mbappe was pressing and working very hard for the team, impressing everyone with his chance creation, work rate, and overall quality of play as, by far, the best and most electrifying man on the pitch.
Mbappe has been coached by so many over the years from Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino to Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso. Not a single manager - neither young nor old, Draconian nor gregarious - has been able to get Mbappe to defend and press like a madman. He may finally be doing so under Jose.
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