This is not my Mbappé either: without leadership, without impact, without soul and without (almost) nothing

That thought of the white president has aged well. This is not his Mbappé either. Nor that of any Madrid fan. His performance at Anfield clearly highlights who, for many, was the best footballer in the world. Mbappe He no longer runs faster than anyone else, he doesn’t even leave his shadow, he doesn’t scare rival defenses, he doesn’t invent impossible goals out of thin air and he has little impact on the outcome of the matches: «Optimal performance in any sport requires that the player is emotionally connected and motivated. If Mbappé feels doubts, or if the environment is not what he expected, that disconnection could be affecting his performance,” says sports psychologist Lorena Cos.

His numbers against Liverpool are devastating. The least important thing was the failure on the penalty. As Ancelotti said, he cannot be judged for missing a shot from eleven meters, but for many other factors. Mbappe He touched the ball 43 times, made 24 passes and missed six (25%), he only finished twice and only made good three of the six dribbles he attempted. Kylian was unable to take advantage of the balls into space and he was not technically fine either, unable on many occasions to make clean drives. A Mbappe totally unknown, although Ancelotti raised his eyebrow when this newspaper asked him, after the game, how it was possible for him to be so clumsy.

Nor, as is usual, was he generous in his defensive work. In fact, two of his losses came close to costing Madrid two goals, but he didn’t blink. In the 3rd minute, he allowed a ball to be stolen that almost ended in an own goal for Asencio. And the penalty Mendy to Salah It is born from another ball given away in Liverpool’s field.

“What is most striking is his lack of character, of leadership,” they comment in Valdebebas, also surprised by the nonexistence of the figure of a personal coach in his private staff, something common in all the great white players. They understand that a footballer of his size, qualities and physique has not suddenly forgotten to play football, but perhaps he does not have the best structure around him.

Mbappé, furthermore, seems like a footballer without a soul, without self-esteem and without the hierarchy of the great stars who have passed through the Madrid locker room in recent times. Nor does he have the personality of Christiannor the command in the square of Sergio Ramos, nor the pride of Benzema: «By arriving as a superstar, Mbappé is expected to be the undisputed leader of the team. That pressure to always be decisive can lead him to play with fear of failing or not risking enough, reducing the spontaneity and creativity that characterize him,” Cos reflects.

All the players who showed their faces at Anfield after the 2-0 scoreline highlighted the good disposition of Mbappe in training, something that Ancelotti has insisted on in his appearances before the press. He is a good companion, cheerful and fun, and never puts on a bad face, but it is precisely that lack of ‘bad temper’ that some colleagues miss. There is the example of Vinicius, who suffered a sporting and personal ridicule since he set foot in Spain, and revolted against everything and everyone to show the world of football that nothing and no one was going to keep him from his path: “Perhaps, if he is too aware of external opinions or is very self-critical of his performance, he could fall into a cycle of insecurity that hinders his development,” says Cos.

Mbappé is being harshly singled out by the media in his country. The criticism he receives here in Spain is tickling compared to what is falling in France. As soon as the match against Liverpool finished, ‘RMC Sport’, the most influential sports radio station in his country, said that Mbappe He was no longer a soccer player. That I couldn’t even run. And ‘Le Parisien’, PSG’s main newspaper, wrote that Mbappé’s collapse suffered a new nightmare.

In fact, in France the idea is increasingly gaining popularity that Mbappé’s last great game was in December 2022, in the World Cup final between Argentina and France, in which he lifted his team with a hat trick and only the incomprehensible failure of Kolo Muani against Draw Martínezin the last minute of extra time, avoided the third French star. Since then, two years have passed of a relationship with PSG full of curves, a financial dispute of 55 million that does not come to an end and a media lynching that has even held him responsible for an alleged crime of sexual assault in Sweden.

In these circumstances, it is when he needs the most help and Madrid does not plan to leave him aside. Quite the opposite, but the reality is that after four months in the capital of Spain, this is not the Mbappe of Florentino.