Kylian Mbappe has been slammed for his “terrible” attitude and role in Real Madrid’s “failure” to get past Arsenal in the Champions League.
Arsenal beat European champions Real Madrid home and away in the quarter-final of the Champions League, winning 5-1 on aggregate.
Mikel Arteta’s men blew Los Blancos away 3-0 at the Emirates in the first leg and capped off a thoroughly professional performance at the Bernabeu on Wednesday with a last-gasp Gabriel Martinelli winner.
Madrid were convincing favourites heading into the tie but their biggest stars failed to inspire them past the second-best team in the Premier League.
Mbappe was largely ineffective across both legs, while Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde also struggled as Declan Rice ran the show in both legs.
France international Mbappe has come in for some big criticism after Madrid exited Europe’s premier competition, but ex-Gunners, Barcelona and Les Bleus midfielder Emmanuel Petit has defended the 25-year-old, saying he will reserve his judgement until the end of the season.
“The hyenas are released and gargling today,” Petit said on Jerome Rothen’s RMC Sport show. “When I see the criticism that has been levelled at him since his departure from PSG, it’s relentless.
“What should it have been? That he wins the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or? The championship is not over yet. Real can also win the cup. We’ll do the math at the end of the season.
“I point the finger at Mbappe’s responsibility, but is he the only one responsible? Of course not. He scored about thirty goals… Is it a failure?
“We can’t sum up his season as a failure against Arsenal. It’s a collective fiasco. The squad is badly calibrated.”
Former Paris Saint-Germain winger Jerome Rothen did not hold back when criticising Mbappe’s debut season at Madrid.
Rothen labeled the Spanish club’s campaign “a failure” and Mbappe’s quest for the Ballon d’Or “a bitter failure” before claiming the striker “was non-existent against Arsenal”.
He said: “We are talking about Kylian Mbappe. He arrived at the club of his dreams with the ambition of winning all the trophies, including the Champions League, and being one of the best players in the world to win the Ballon d’Or. Collectively and individually, it is a failure.
“He won’t have the Ballon d’Or this year. It was a bitter failure.
“At the beginning of the season, we found mitigating circumstances for him. We could give him time to adapt. But when you’re Mbappe, the adaptation time is shorter.
“He scored a lot of goals, but in the game, it’s catastrophic. The collective is not well-oiled. You have to get along better with your partners.
“He was non-existent against Arsenal. He should have been perfect at all levels. I think his attitude is terrible, it doesn’t match with his statements. It’s nothingness, there’s nothing. I can’t be told that it’s a success.
“I wish him the best, but the record is horrible this year.”