Pundit makes Cristiano Ronaldo claim while explaining why Kylian Mbappe is struggling at Real Madrid
Former Real Madrid star Rafael van der Vaart has said that Kylian Mbappe does not like to be treated differently from Cristiano Ronaldo. He believes that the Frenchman wants to be the star of the team and will not accept being just 'another player'.
Speaking to BetMGM, Van der Vaart opined that Mbappe is struggling in Spain because he is not playing in his favorite left-wing position. He added that the Frenchman will do better if he plays there instead of the central role given to him by Carlo Ancelotti. He said:
"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."
Kylian Mbappe has been under pressure at Real Madrid since joining from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer in the summer. He has scored eight goals in the league with another in the UEFA Champions League and once in the UEFA Super Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti admits Kylian Mbappe has not been at his best at Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti has said that he will not judge Kylian Mbappe based on his penalty miss in their 2-1 defeat against Athletic Club on Wednesday, December 4. However, he admitted that the striker has not been at his best since moving to Real Madrid and said (via ESPN):
"I haven't spoken to [Mbappé]. I shouldn't evaluate a player's game based on a penalty. Sometimes you score them, sometimes you don't. Obviously he's sad and disappointed, but we have to carry on. He isn't at his best level, but we have to give him time to adapt. He's scored 10 goals, he can do better, and he's working to do better."
Kylian Mbappe took full responsibility for the penalty miss as it cost Los Blancos on Wednesday. They lost 2-1 to Atheltic Club and are now four points behind Barcelona atop the league table but have a game in hand.