Kylian Mbappe has admitted his start to life at Real Madrid couldn’t have been worse.
After years of speculation, Mbappe finally moved to Madrid on a free transfer in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired. But despite a good return in front of goal, the Frenchman’s performances fell well short of expectations.
Many began to question whether Mbappe had actually made Madrid a worse team, and the 26-year-old admitted he had hit “rock bottom” in December when he missed two penalties in a week.
Now that Mbappe has started to turn things around, he spoke openly about his problems and admitted he couldn’t have imagined how badly things would start.
“A player always wants more, for me and for the team. “So if you don’t do that, it’s normal for it to have an impact on you,” Mbappe told the press. “I knew that could happen and in the end it was good because I changed my mentality and thought: ‘I can’t play worse. Things can only get better.’”
“It was more of a mental thing. I thought, ‘Now I have to do more,’ simple as that. I thought I was doing well physically and with the team, but I knew I had to do more. It was a moment where I said, “Come on, now it’s time to change.”
“It wasn’t shyness. But you have to come to Real Madrid with humility because it is a team that has won everything and you cannot come with demands and order: ‘Give me the ball’. No. Here you come with the greatest respect… And for the work.”
Mbappe continued to confirm early claims that he was struggling to find space on the field in a forward line that also includes left-wing stars Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.
“I’ve been thinking a lot,” he said. “You can see it in the games. It was a time of adjustment and I thought too much about how to do it, whether I should move in space or whether I should go to the left, into Vini’s area or into Rodrygo’s area and when.” You think so much , you’re not playing well.