When Kylian Mbappé signed with Real Madrid ahead of the 2024-25 season, the move was treated as the completion of something. One of the best clubs in the world had finally signed one of the best players in the world, and the assumption was that trophies would follow naturally. Nearly two seasons later, the club is six points behind in the La Liga title race, trailing Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals and already eliminated from the Copa del Rey. The gap between expectation and result has become impossible to ignore.
Mbappé is not the only explanation for the underperformance. Injuries have been persistent across the squad, the midfield has been a weakness throughout the cycle, and managerial changes have disrupted continuity. But the specific pattern of how the team performs with and without him has become the central question surrounding the club’s identity.
The individual numbers and what they hide
Mbappé leads Real Madrid with 39 goals across all competitions this season. That output is substantial by any measure and was enough to place him among the frontrunners for the 2026 Ballon d’Or at various points during the campaign. He has won matches for this club that might otherwise have been lost.
But in the highest-stakes situations, the production has faltered. Against Liverpool in a decisive European fixture, he was largely absent from meaningful moments. In losses to Osasuna and Celta Vigo, he managed a combined two shots on target across 180 minutes. The version of Mbappé who disappears in important matches is a problem that the volume of goals in lesser games does not fully offset.
How his presence changes what Real Madrid does
The tactical consequence of building around Mbappé is that the team becomes predictable. The attacking structure organizes itself around getting him the ball in positions where he can run at defenders or cut inside toward goal. When that approach works, it is difficult to stop. When it does not, the team has little else to fall back on, because the spacing and movement of every other player has been arranged around one outcome.
Vinicius Junior, who was central to Real Madrid’s most successful recent period alongside Karim Benzema, has struggled to find the same effectiveness in a system structured around Mbappé. The two occupy overlapping spaces and create competing demands on how attacking play is organized. Benzema’s movement created space for Vinicius to exploit. Mbappé’s movement often consumes it.
Federico Valverde and others in the midfield have shown more creative freedom and output during stretches when Mbappé has been unavailable, which adds to the pattern.
What the team looks like without him
The numbers from Mbappé’s injury absences are difficult to dismiss. Over a stretch of seven matches without him, Real Madrid won six and scored 13 goals, with the attack distributing more evenly across multiple players. In La Liga specifically, the club won four of five matches during one absence, scoring 15 goals across those games.
The contrast is not subtle enough to be explained away by scheduling or opponent quality alone. Something structural changes in how Real Madrid plays when Mbappé is not available, and by most measures the results have been better.
What the club needs to address
Mbappé arrived at Real Madrid with expectations of playing as a central striker in the mold Benzema occupied for over a decade. That role requires specific movement into the box, an understanding of when to hold the line and when to drop deep, and a willingness to create for teammates as often as finishing for himself. Mbappé’s natural game pulls him wide, into one-on-one situations and toward individual moments rather than collective ones.
None of that makes him a poor player. It makes him a poor fit for the specific function Real Madrid needs him to fulfill, and recognizing that distinction is the first step toward addressing it.
