Real Madrid President Perez to Ancelotti – 'This is not the Mbappe I signed'

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez finally got his man through the door this summer, after three attempts and a pursuit lasting seven years, Kylian Mbappe penned a five-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Or so we thought.

According to Relevo, Perez has, like much of Spain, been underwhelmed by Mbappe’s performances in the opening four months of his spell. He has even uttered the words ‘This is not the Mbappe that I bought’. This of course harks back to his famous El Chiringuito interview, when he explained Mbappe’s decision to turn Real Madrid down and extend his deal with Paris Saint-Germain by saying that ‘this is not my Mbappe’, alleging that he had been pressured into the decision.

The chief problem at Real Madrid, they feel, is that Mbappe is not exercising his role as a leader of the team. He arrived as the biggest star in the city, and yet so far has gone about his work quiet and largely discreet fashion. They feel that Mbappe needs to start setting the tone and paving the way for his teammates.

It should be remembered that Los Blancos were keen for Mbappe to keep a low-profile during the opening stages of his career. After invoking the ire of the Real Madrid fanbase three years ago, the idea was for him to do his talking on the pitch, and until the last international break, he has largely gone unnoticed for anything outside of the 90 minutes on the pitch.