Real's issue lies with Mbappe and Vinicius

After being knocked out of the Champions League, Real Madrid is putting everything under scrutiny. Alvaro is unlikely to continue, yet the most significant issue arises from the pairing of Vinicius and Mbappe.

Real Madrid's leadership believes they possess a squad strong enough to achieve better results, especially after major investments in the transfer market, as they conclude their second consecutive season without a major trophy.

Ancelotti's warning

Carlo Ancelotti warned a year and a half ago that football isn't simply about stacking stars. "In the 2023-24 season, we won La Liga and the Champions League, and then that summer, the world's best player (Kylian Mbappe) joined. Everyone thought things would be easy. One plus one equals two. But in football, one plus one isn't always two." The Italian coach issued this warning in December 2024, quite discreetly during a rare calm moment in a season that had already exposed many problems.

Now, 16 months later, beyond the complaints about referees in Munich, Real Madrid faces a fragile and uncertain future, preparing to end their second consecutive season without a major trophy, which also marks Mbappe's two seasons.

At Valdebebas, the leadership proposes a period of calm reflection to examine the series of issues the crisis has revealed. They believe the squad's quality is sufficient for better achievements, though they also acknowledge that reinforcements might be needed. One of the debated points is the future of Alvaro Arbeloa, who made some lineup decisions that didn't fully satisfy the leadership and didn't improve the results previously achieved by Xabi Alonso.

Arbeloa reiterated in the press room at the Allianz Arena that he is "a club soldier" and would not oppose any decision. When promoted to the first team in January, the club did not disclose the length of his contract. In the 21 matches he managed, Real Madrid lost 7.

The days of reflection also impact the dressing room, where the last three coaches have complained about players "choosing which matches to perform." However, according to internal sources, the club does not intend to abandon the Vinicius-Mbappe duo, though clearly their connection still needs improvement after two disappointing seasons. Regarding contracts expiring this summer, David Alaba will leave, Rudiger is likely to extend for one more year, while Dani Carvajal's situation remains unclear.

While the leadership reviews everything, the Bernabeu will await the entire team next Tuesday for the match against Alaves. This will be a crucial moment to gauge the level of fan discontent. Since January, most of the stands have twice risen to protest the players, and a portion has directed criticism toward the leadership area. "Florentino resign" has appeared frequently. Before the Levante match – an afternoon of intense jeering – club members appeared tense as they approached the core fan group to try to cool down before the anticipated wave of backlash.

The matter of Mbappe and Vinicius

The image of the bench in Munich – where over 170 million euros were spent last summer (Franco Mastantuono, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras) but no place in the starting lineup – symbolizes the missteps of Real Madrid. The Royal club has suffered its 26th defeat in the recent two seasons. Averaging nearly one loss every four matches. In the 2023-24 season, with Vinicius displaying his Ballon d'Or version (but losing to Rodri in the voting), they lost only 2 out of 55 official matches.

The new defensive recruits are inexperienced or lack cohesion, the midfield still lacks an organizer, but the biggest question, almost existential, is the combination between Vinicius and Mbappe. In the recent 7 matches where Mbappe was absent due to injury or only played late, Vinicius scored 5 goals. But in the 4 subsequent matches where Mbappe started, the Brazilian player scored none.

Against Bayern Munich, an opponent vulnerable behind the defense, the performance of both continued to show an ineffective partnership. They launched a total of 20 shots across both legs, but only Mbappe scored 2 goals, below the expected level (2.5 goals according to Opta). Mbappe, seen as the cornerstone of the project, is in a paradoxical situation: He has scored 40 goals across all fronts (only Cristiano, Lewandowski, and Benzema have scored 15 goals in a single Champions League season like him), but the connection with the collective play still has many gaps. Individual performance is very high, but overall team performance slightly declined: 2.3 goals per match in 2023-24 (without him) and 2.2 in the two subsequent seasons (with him).

Meanwhile, Vinicius – who was fiercely jeered by the Bernabeu in January and still receives scattered whistles – left Germany with zero dribbles completed, along with regret for missing a clear chance to make it 4-2. He has 8 months left before he can freely negotiate if he doesn't extend his contract expiring in 2027.

Their unsatisfactory combination is the clearest evidence of what Ancelotti once said. One plus one sometimes doesn't equal two. This is a problem touching the "nervous system" of a club built on the hierarchy of superstars.