Kylian Mbappé believes Real Madrid remains an essential destination for any player seeking a lasting place in football history, and he says the club’s weight is felt most sharply on the European nights that have made the Bernabéu unique. Two years into his spell in Madrid, the France forward says he has found the sporting challenge, the support and the life away from the pitch that he wanted when he left his country.
Key takeaways
- Mbappé says Madrid has given him greater calm and that he has been happy in Spain since finding a home in the city.
- He described Florentino Pérez as the best president in football and thanked him for maintaining contact over a decade.
- The forward says José Mourinho is an exceptional leader and one of the sharpest minds he has encountered.
- Mbappé has set no goal target, insisting that team victories matter more than personal scoring totals.
- He wants the Ballon d’Or to return to Real Madrid, while accepting that Spain are currently the world’s leading national side.
- He urged supporters to unite with the squad as Real Madrid build towards the decisive second half of the season.
A Bernabéu ambition shaped by Europe
Mbappé said there had never been a need for anyone to persuade him to join Real Madrid. In his view, a player who wants to become part of football history must eventually represent the Spanish club. The timing was not always right, he said, and some decisions were beyond his control, but his wish to make the move was never in doubt.
He admitted that his final year at Paris Saint-Germain was difficult, while declining to reopen that period or criticise those involved. He instead called it part of the route he had to travel before fulfilling his ambition of playing for Madrid.
For Mbappé, the Bernabéu remains central to the experience. He recalled arriving there with PSG for a Champions League match while renovation work was still under way. Noise from above had drawn glances around the stadium, he said, although the venue’s scale and history were already clear. Since his presentation as a Madrid player, he has felt that every appearance there carries a special significance.
“You feel the history,” Mbappé said of the Bernabéu. “Each match gives you another chance to do something new.” He is convinced that he and the side will experience further major European evenings there, describing such occasions as unmatched anywhere else.
Life in Spain has also settled him. Mbappé said he wanted to absorb a new culture and has adapted increasingly well, even if he still has more to learn. The only unsettled phase came before he had a permanent home. Once he was established, he said, Madrid and Spain felt right. He can go out occasionally, though he accepts the limits imposed by his profile and considers them part of his profession.
He said the backing has extended beyond Real Madrid supporters, with affection from across Spain exceeding what he expected. Playing every week at the Bernabéu, he added, is a privilege.
Pérez’s role was decisive, according to Mbappé. The pair stayed in touch for 10 years before the transfer, and the player said the president showed understanding both when decisions helped Madrid and when they did not. Pérez repeatedly told him that he would one day play for the club, Mbappé said, and the forward expressed gratitude for what the president has done for him.
Goals, new faces and the season ahead
Mbappé has worked under Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa and now Mourinho, and said each has broadened his understanding of the game because of their differing approaches. Mourinho, however, has made a particularly strong impression. Mbappé called him a legendary coach, a natural leader and a remarkably intelligent figure, adding that the manager has already stamped his character on the group.
The forward dismissed suggestions that Mourinho had demanded 50 goals. The instruction, he said, was simply to score. Mbappé does not want to impose a numerical limit on himself because a season can change quickly. His focus is to help the team in every match, whether through goals or other actions.
He pointed to his assist for Espí in the win at Elche as the obvious example. Mbappé believed he could have shot himself, but Espí was unmarked and the pass offered a certain goal. Winning, he said, has to come before an individual finish.
Responding to the view that he only scores, Mbappé said football permits many styles and opinions. He is ready to listen to people offering a considered tactical argument, although he distinguishes that from those trying simply to provoke or cause harm. He regards scoring as an art but also as an obsession and a specific way of experiencing the game. Not every player has the same task, he stressed: some score, others create, defend or press.
When he goes a match without a goal, Mbappé said the frustration arrives immediately rather than after three or four games. Yet he sees that feeling as useful. The expectation around a prolific scorer creates extra determination for the next outing. In the final third, he added, no decision is automatic: the choice between a teammate and goal depends on position, opponents, game state and the rapid flow of information.
The Ballon d’Or is a personal prize, but Mbappé framed it as a collective objective. His job is to convince voters through his football, not by talking, and he wants the award back at the Bernabéu. He said a Real Madrid player should contest every major honour, while the club must lay the groundwork for team trophies now rather than wait for the season’s closing months.
He said the squad need not all be close friends, but they must be united, perform well and work for the same purpose: Real Madrid’s success. The club, he argued, must rank above individual relationships and ambitions.
On-field combinations vary, he said, depending on the demands of a match. He named Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Arda Güler, Brahim Díaz, Diomande and Espí as teammates with whom different connections can develop. Mbappé expects Espí to score heavily this season because of his instinct around goal.
Diomande, signed for €140 million at the age of 19, has impressed the group since his first day at Valdebebas, Mbappé said. He acknowledged the noise surrounding the fee but said the youngster’s talent is evident. Madrid’s senior players are trying to protect him and the entire squad, knowing that a campaign across several competitions cannot be carried by only 11 players.
Asked which former stars he would bring back, Mbappé selected Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazário, saying their quality and connection with the club continue to excite supporters.
Mbappé also reflected on France’s World Cup defeat to Spain. France got the opening plan wrong, he said, and falling behind made life especially difficult against a side comfortable in possession. Unlike a Champions League knockout tie, there is no second leg at a World Cup. Spain won, he said, and therefore deserved recognition as the present standard-bearers in international football.
France remain capable of challenging for every major title, he added, after a recent sequence featuring a World Cup win, a runners-up finish and a semi-final appearance. But he believes Spain’s triumph places them first for now. He praised the World Cup as a competition full of goals and leading players, one which supporters will remember for years.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s derby, an away fixture Mbappé relishes because such atmospheres reveal a player’s personality. He said Madrid want to extend their winning run through sacrifice, commitment and character. Barcelona have started the season strongly, he noted, but he declined to dwell on rivals.
His message to Madrid supporters was one of shared responsibility. He understands their demanding standards and accepts frustration after the club won nothing last season. But he insisted that neither talent nor commitment alone will deliver trophies without the Bernabéu behind the side. Real Madrid, he said, can compete for everything only if players and supporters move forward together.
