Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham set to miss Real Madrid's US pre-season tour: Reports
Real Madrid are set to be without new striker Kylian Mbappe and midfielder Jude Bellingham as they embark on their pre-season tour of the US. New signing Endrick, though, will be a part of the squad.
The reigning La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners commence their pre-season on July 31 against AC Milan in Chicago. Los Blancos are also scheduled to play Barcelona on August 3 in East Rutherford before ending their tour against Chelsea three days later in Charlotte.
The squad for the pre-season is a mixture of youth and experience, but, as mentioned above, Mbappe and Bellingham won't be a part of it. As per The Athletic (via Madrid Universal), players who featured in the semi-final of Euro 2024 or 2024 Copa America have been exempted from the tour.
Mbappe's France made the Euro 2024 semi-final, where they lost 2-1 to eventual winners Spain. Meanwhile, Bellingham's England fell by the same scoreline to La Roja in the final.
Apart from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga are also expected to be out of the tour.
All these players are set to report for training on August 7, a week before the UEFA Super Cup clash with reigning UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta in Warsaw.
How did Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham fared at Euro 2024?
New Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe had a rather underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign. The France captain scored once - from the spot - and provided two assists in five games as Les Bleus lost in the semi-final.
It was his maiden goal in the European Championship after drawing blanks in four games in his debut appearance three years ago, where France had fallen on penalties to Switzerland in the Round of 16, with Mbappe missing the decisive kick.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham had a better campaign, bagging two goals and an assist in six games. After scoring the winner in the 1-0 group-stage win over Serbia, Bellingham's dramatic injury-time equaliser in the Round of 16 against Slovakia helped stave off elimination for the Three Lions.
The Real Madrid midfielder also provided the assist to substitute Cole Palmer as England briefly held parity for 1-1 in the final before conceding Mikel Oyarzabal's 86th-minute winner/