Kylian Mbappe walked into his pre-Champions League press conference facing a barrage of uncomfortable questions, and the exchange offered a revealing glimpse into the pressure surrounding Real Madrid as the club begins a season it hopes will finally deliver silverware.
Ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League opener against Inter Milan, Mbappe was pressed on his relationship with fellow forward Vinicius Jr amid persistent rumours of friction between the two, as well as reports of dressing-room discord last season under Xabi Alonso and later Alvaro Arbeloa. The most pointed question came at the end: despite his individual brilliance, Mbappe is still without a major trophy since arriving at the Bernabeu, while his former club Paris Saint-Germain have lifted back-to-back Champions League titles in his absence.
The France international, fresh off a summer in which he became the World Cup's all-time record goalscorer with 10 goals in North America, and who scored 42 times in 44 appearances for Real Madrid last season, was also compared unfavourably to Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha in terms of defensive contribution. Mbappe pushed back firmly.
"If I wanted to be stupid, I could tell you that I score more goals than those two players you mentioned, so they need to score more to be like me. Everyone's different," Mbappe said. "But I'm smart, so I'll tell you that I need to improve. But I don't like comparing myself because I do a lot of things that others don't. It's an endless debate. But yes, the whole team needs to improve defensively, and with the ball, we need to raise our level too."
The timing of the scrutiny is significant. Real Madrid suffered a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis in their last outing, a match in which Mbappe missed a late penalty, and the club already trails LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who have scored 17 goals in four league wins this season. There was also brief transfer intrigue over the summer when Arsenal's interest in Vinicius raised the possibility that Real Madrid could restructure their attack around Mbappe alone, though the Brazilian ultimately stayed, leaving both forwards to find a way to coexist on the pitch.
Jose Mourinho has returned to the Bernabeu for a second spell in charge, tasked with restoring discipline and structure to a squad many view as a talented but disjointed collection of individuals following two trophyless seasons. The Portuguese manager arrives under considerable pressure to improve on last season's Champions League quarter-final exit, when Real Madrid were beaten 6-4 on aggregate by Bayern Munich, leaving the club's wait for a European title stretching toward three years.
Complicating matters further, Real Madrid could be missing as many as ten first-team players for the visit of Inter Milan, though the squad has been freshened up over the summer with new arrivals including Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomande and Denzel Dumfries — the latter facing his former club for the first time.
Inter arrive with their own point to prove after a disappointing end to last season, when they were eliminated in the knockout play-off round by Bodo/Glimt, having lost the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain the year before. Under new stewardship, the Nerazzurri have started this campaign strongly, breezing past Monza and Cagliari before overcoming Napoli 3-2 in their toughest test so far, and will fancy their chances against a wounded Real Madrid side searching for both form and answers.
Based on reporting from The Independent and Standard Sport.