“Bloody hell, he has to do that” - Mikel tells Kylian Mbappe that Ancelotti will throw him out of Real Madrid if he doesn't do ‘important’ thing
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has warned Kylian Mbappe to get used to defending at Real Madrid. He believes that manager Carlo Ancelotti will not hesitate to drop the Frenchman if he does not drop back when needed.
Speaking on his podcast, the former Chelsea man stated that Mbappe would have to contribute with much more than just his attacking inputs. He said:
"He'll give you freedom to go out and express yourself, but when you've not got the ball, you have to make sure you f***g defend. For the whole team to defend is so important for Carlo, so you have to be able to do that. It's interesting to see how Kylian will do that [at Madrid]. We know he doesn't like defending. Is he going to do that at Real Madrid?"
He added:
"Bloody hell, he has to do that. If he doesn't do that, I'm telling you Carlo is going to take him off. Carlo will [only] make the right decision for Real Madrid. He is not scared of anything. He's won the Champions League five times, there's a reason why he's done that, it's because he's that bloody good. So if you're Kylian Mbappe and you're not defending or trying to do what the team has been doing, Carlo is going to take him out."
Mikel played 72 matches under Carlo Ancelotti during his time at Chelsea. He assisted four times under the manager and they won the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti on Kylian Mbappe's role at Real Madrid
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has stated that he will give his forwards a free role, including Kylian Mbappe. He pointed at the role he gave Vinicius Jr last season and said on the Obi One Podcast:
"I see him playing in the front with the attack being quite wide. I think the important key to having a good attack is mobility. If I ask you where Vinicius played last season, it's difficult to say. He didn't play as a left-winger. Sometimes he played on the left, sometimes in the middle. Bellingham, sometimes, played on the left, sometimes played in the middle, sometimes on the right. Rodrygo started most of the games on the right but sometimes during the game, I see him playing on the left (laughs). It's important to have this mobility."
Kylian Mbappe joined Los Blancos earlier this summer following the expiry of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.