Kylian Mbappe hoped to receive same treatment as Cristiano Ronaldo after joining Real Madrid reveals Rafael van der Vaart

The Frenchman has scored 10 goals so far since joining Los Blancos.

Rafael van der Vaart claims that Kylian Mbappe “doesn’t like” receiving treatment different than Cristiano Ronaldo and finds it difficult to accept being “just another player.”

In the summer of 2024, the World Cup-winning Frenchman joined Santiago Bernabeu as another “Galactico.” It was anticipated that he would become a lucky charm for Los Blancos, and rumours of 50-goal campaigns circulated soon after his arrival.

Since being switched from his preferred left-wing position to a central striking role, Mbappe has had a harder time than anticipated and has developed the regrettable habit of missing penalties. Given that the former Paris Saint-German forward isn’t given the same status in Madrid as Ronaldo formerly had, he has occasionally come off as dissatisfied.

Ex-Real midfielder Van der Vaart has told BetMGM of Mbappe’s early struggles in Spain: “I don’t think he feels welcome at Real Madrid yet. When you go from being the biggest player at a club like he was at PSG to being one of many, it’s hard. You have to learn to almost share the stage and that’s difficult.

“When Cristiano Ronaldo came to Madrid, when I was there, we all knew that whatever he wanted, like taking free kicks or penalties, he got, but that’s not the case with Mbappe and it comes across to me that he doesn’t like that. He needs to be the star and at Real Madrid he’s just another player which he’s finding very hard to accept.

“Make no mistake, he has all the quality in the world, but I do think he’s better from the left side. With that in mind, I don’t understand why they signed him as they have a world-class player in that position in Vinicius Jr.”

In 2024–25, Kylian Mbappe has scored ten goals in 20 appearances across all competitions, reaching double figures. However, that total could have been much higher, and there are still concerns about whether he is a good fit for Carlo Ancelotti’s all-star Real Madrid team.

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