Kylian Mbappe's move to Real Madrid was years in the making. The Frenchman finally arrived at Santiago Bernabeu after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain ran out. The European and Spanish champions added arguably the best player in the world to their ranks on a free transfer. What could go wrong?
Well, Mbappe has not exactly made a blockbuster start to life as a Real Madrid. On paper, the numbers are good. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 8 goals and provided an assist in 12 appearances.
A number of those goals have come from the penalty spot though. Also, Mbappe's overall performances have not been what fans would have expected from someone of his reputation. He quite certainly is not playing like the best player in the world.
There are fears that Mbappe's addition to the side might have disrupted the balance that the team had built up last season, when they won the Champions League and La Liga double. The shaky performances do suggest that that might be the case, at least at this moment.
Real Madrid reportedly regret signing Kylian Mbappe
There are now suggestions that the club regret signing Mbappe. As reported by the Daily Mail (via GOAL), while speaking to the YouTube channel Colinterview, journalist Romain Molina said:
"They regret bringing him in. I guarantee that. I have spoken about it off (the record). It hasn’t been at all what they were expecting."
Molina further went on to state regarding the Mbappe situation:
"The club are gutted, firstly with his level (of performances), which is not at all at the expected levels, in the dressing room it isn’t great, that isn’t necessarily Mbappe’s fault though.
"I think Real have made a big mistake. He didn’t have a pre-season, he played instantly, unlike (Jude) Bellingham. When you see how (Mbappe) is physically at 25, you can’t explain it to me. The physical drop-off that he has had at 25, I have never seen that."
Of course, Mbappe has not met the sky-high expectations so far in a Real Madrid shirt. But it is far too early in the season to come to any conclusions.
It is very possible that Mbappe could find top form in the near future and then, all of these discussions would look pointless. But at this moment, it is clear that Real Madrid need to be playing better.
Their biggest match of the season will come next weekend when they take on FC Barcelona, who have looked unstoppable since the appointment of Hansi Flick as manager. If Mbappe performs well in that game and makes a difference, the narrative around him will suddenly be very different to what it is now.