Kylian Mbappe has stated that he should not be exempt from criticism at Real Madrid, while easing concerns that his focus is already on the World Cup with France.
Mbappe has had managed minutes since December due to a recurring knee problem and missed five matches earlier this month because of this injury.
He returned to Madrid before the international break and made an impact with France in the 2-1 friendly win against Brazil earlier this week, scoring the first goal for “Les Bleus.”
Despite missing a total of 10 matches since the Club World Cup last summer, Mbappe is Madrid’s top scorer in all competitions, with 38 goals in 35 appearances, averaging a goal every 76 minutes.
Madrid returns to action in La Liga with a trip to Mallorca on April 4, currently four points behind leaders Barcelona, while also competing in the Champions League, where they will face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
Mbappe insisted that his focus is entirely on these objectives as he aims to finish the season with trophies.
“In Spain, people are a bit worried about this—that I won’t play and that I’ll go straight to the World Cup.”
“The best way to prepare is to win everything with Madrid first.”
“Real Madrid is like a religion for people in Spain; they are very passionate, and there is a lot of discussion and speculation, sometimes justified, sometimes not.”
“You have to know how to handle criticism because everyone has been criticized at Real Madrid. Ronaldo, Di Stefano… so I don’t see why I should be an exception.”
“You just have to stay calm, focus on what you need to do, and think about how you can improve your performance on the field,” he said.
Madrid has faced Bayern 22 times before in the Champions League, winning 11 of those matches (3 draws, 8 losses) and is unbeaten in the last nine meetings (7 wins, 2 draws).
