Real Madrid superstar forward Kylian Mbappe has won no trophies in his first two seasons at the lub, but he has been increasingly at the center of controversy, especially after his public melt down in the post game of Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.
But Mbappe has been absolved of the same criticism he is now starting to get from more aware Madridistas to the mainstream media, all because he is scoring buckets of goals. Mbappe won the Pichichi Trophy for a second straight season, but as Vedat Muriqi - his runner up this season - can attest after getting relegated at Mallorca, goals are not everything.
In Mbappe's case vs. Muriqi, at least, Muriqi can say he hasn't had a whole lot of help and has been pulling his eam up. For many Madridistas, Mbappe's 25 La Liga goals have been empty calories, as he has missed so many easy chances, shot with less efficiency than even Luka Jovic and Mariano Diaz in a Madrid shirt, and benefited greatly from both goals from the penalty spot and goals against the weakest teams in Spanish football.
Arda Guler deserved it
And yet, as the Madrid Zone relay, Kylian Mbappe was named the official Real Madrid Player of the Season. As can be observed in the replies to the post, this is an honor that does not sit well with many Madridistas, who believe someone else should have won it even though he is not the primary goal scorer: in particular, Arda Guler.
Players like Guler are so easy to underrate. They are quiet, not flashy, and focus more on working hard and creating for other players rather than being arrogant, loud, flashy, or making things all about them. Guler constantly set Mbappe up for success with amazing passes and eventually became an asset defensively, which is something Kylian Mbappe, with 0.1 tackles and 0.1 interceptions per game, clearly knows nothing about.
Always a great player since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, Arda Guler has now blossomed into one of world football's best players. He had four goals and nine assists last season, and had the forwards been less wasteful and injury not cut his season short, perhaps Guler would have flirted with the 15-20 assist range, so good was his play.
Guler was one of the only players Real Madrid fans could look at with pride as a model of hard work, consistency, and drama free football. They can only wait for the day he displaces Mbappe as the actual Real Madrid Player of the Season, because he was the better footballer in 2025/26 to those paying attention.
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