When Real Madrid announced the signing of Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2024, many believed that adding the Frenchman to a squad that had just come off a Champions League and La Liga double winning campaign would create an unbeatable super team that would rule Europe for the foreseeable future. However, that has been far from the case, with the team still struggling to gel, with two players in particular still struggling to get on the same page, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
We've seen it before in football that two of the world's biggest stars struggle to get on the same page when playing in the same team, something Real Madrid are all too familiar with. Everyone remembers the Galacticos era of the early 2000s with all those stars clashing at times, and it seems Real Madrid have themselves another Galacticos situation on their hands. Despite being two of the best players in football, the Frenchman and the Brazilian still aren't completely on the same page, and that's because, in one important aspect, they are completely different players and people.
While both are superstars, Mbappe and Vinicius couldn't be more different
When it comes to Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, the biggest difference between the two players is their attitudes and egos, and this has caused issues for Real Madrid for the last few seasons. Rarely have we seen Kylian Mbappe's ego, which is massive, carry over and affect the team on the pitch.
The same cannot be said when it comes to Vinicius Junior. Countless times, we have seen Vinicius and his antics have a negative impact on the team, most notably last season following his substitution in El Clasico when he threw a temper tantrum on the pitch, which led to Xabi Alonso's downfall at the Bernabeu.
His attitude and antics have been a problem for years, but have taken a step up in the last two seasons, resulting in teammates and even the manager having to pull him aside and tell him he needs to calm down or risk having an even bigger negative impact on the team. Distractions are what derail winning teams, and even though Mbappe does have a huge ego, it isn't even close to as big of a distraction as Vinicius Junior.
Another difference between the two is the consistency of their output. Mbappe bangs in goals for fun every week and has been Mr. Consistent since his arrival, the same cannot be said for Vinicius. The Brazilian is known for going into scoring slumps, and unfortunately for him, those tend to come when the team needs him most, so while he may not like the fact that Mbappe is the go-to target man now, his consistency has warranted the favoritism.
Jose Mourinho made it one of his goals upon his return to get Mbappe and Vinicius to work together, and while there has been a moment or two, they still aren't fully on the same page, and with Champions League glory on the minds of everyone at the Bernabeu this season, everyone hopes the manager can get it done.
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