Inside Kylian Mbappe’s chaotic begin to life at Real Madrid

When Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe parted company last week at the start of the international break the club could not have been happier with their 25-year-old striker.

His decision not to join up with the France squad and take a minibreak instead, looked like a case of putting them first before everything else, even if it meant provoking the wrath of supporters of the French national team.

Carlo Ancelotti had spoken internally about the importance of his players having five-day spells away from football to recover physically and disconnect mentally in what will be a marathon season for the team.

Mbappe had clearly put club first, second and third on his list of main concerns in a way that contrasted with the famous ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid’ flag message that Gareth Bale posed behind back when he was a Real Madrid player. Wales was always what mattered most to Bale. Mbappe was making a statement decision to put Real Madrid ahead of Les Bleus.

The fact that Mbappe also seemed to be at war with his former club Paris Saint Germain was also not bothering Real Madrid who benefited from his signing on a free transfer last July having seen him run down his lucrative contract in the French capital. 

Kylian Mbappe has impressed at Real Madrid since making the move from PSG in the summer

The winger decided to skip France international duty last week in order to take a minibreak

Instead Mbappe visited Sweden with friends last week, staying at the Bank Hotel in Stockholm

Mbappe’s lawyers were due to meet legal representatives of PSG in the French football league’s Court of Appeal today with the player expected to turn down all attempts to negotiate a settlement on the €55million (£46m) he believes he is owed by his former team. 

That would mean the dispute over what Mbappe feels are an unpaid bonus and outstanding wages would likely go to a higher court dragging the dispute on through the season – again not a problem for Real Madrid, more one for one of their big European rivals, PSG.

But the club’s general satisfaction with Mbappe’s first three months turned to concern on Tuesday when French prosecutor Marina Chirakova confirmed that she was investigating an alleged rape committed on 10 October in central Stockholm. 

There is still no confirmation that the allegation centres on Mbappe, but the Swedish media outlet Expressen was still insisting as much, as the confirmation from Chirakova was released, Tuesday morning.

Mbappe fiercely denied the stories as fake news on Monday night on social media with a tweet that insinuated PSG were behind a smear campaign against him because of that legal dispute over his pay-off.

Madrid are yet to offer a statement and are likely to wait for the Swedish prosecutor to confirm or deny that the accusation relates to their player. If it does he will be interviewed before the prosecutor decides whether or not to call a trial.

Even if the allegation turns out not to relate to the French footballer the spotlight on his private life is developing into a major concern at Real Madrid.

Mbappe seems to be at war with former club PSG over a settlement after his departure 

French prosecutor Marina Chirakova confirmed that she was investigating an alleged rape committed on 10 October in central Stockholm 

‘It is not about defending him for the sake of defending him,’ Mbappe’s France manager Didier Deschamps said this week. ‘The problem is that his private life is not private.’ Mbappe might have expected a Swedish nightclub to be beyond the reach of the spotlight trying to locate him during France’s Nations League matches, but he was mistaken.

Madrid have been happy with Mbappe on the pitch so far where he has scored seven goals in 10 starts in all competitions. There are also signs of a good understanding with Jude Bellingham blossoming; albeit one which means Bellingham has to limit his excursions into the penalty area where he scored most of the 14 goals he managed in his first 15 official matches at the start of last season.

Mbappe has also impressed everyone at Madrid with his behaviour around the club and most have been echoing the sentiments of Luis Enrique, his former coach at PSG who recently opened up on their relationship in the three-part documentary about him coaching the French club last season.

The Spanish manager told the makers of ‘You have no f***ing idea’: ‘I found him (Mbappe) to be an exceptional person the like of which you don’t often find when you work at the very top. You don’t often see that level of humanity and closeness.’

Mbappe was due back at Real Madrid training on Tuesday after the minibreak given by Ancelotti, but turned up at the Valdebebas complex to train on Monday. His return 24-hours ahead of schedule has been seen as another sign of how focused he is on helping his club this season.

Mbappe has impressed Carlo Ancelotti and others at Madrid with his attitude around the club

The star winger returned to Los Blancos training a day earlier than planned on Monday 

He played a big part in the decision not to join up with France and his mind is now set on starting at the weekend against Celta Vigo if he feels he has completely overcome the left thigh problem that meant he missed the Madrid derby, started the Champions League defeat to Lille on the bench, and came off after 70 minutes of the last game before the break for internationals against Villarreal. It was the fact that he started that game that upset so many in France.

All of that positivity will be severely tested if Mbappe is officially confirmed as under investigation in the coming hours. 

Spanish journalist Albert Ortega posted a message on social media on Tuesday with images of Mbappe in, and then apparently photoshopped out, of an adidas advertising shot that appeared on a Real Madrid social media post. The suggestion is that the player’s contractual commitments with Nike were the reason behind him being removed from the image.