EXCL: “He changed his game” – French World Cup-winner sends message to Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe | OneFootball

This interview was conducted exclusively by Football España in partnership with Genting Casino.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has been shifting the counters on his board around for much of this season, in part due to injuries, in part trying to find a system that gets the best out of his array of attacking stars. One of the key conundrums is ensuring Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior fit together, but World Cup-winner Emmanuel Petit has pointed out that he has changed his game.

One of the key debates before Mbappe arrived centred around whether Mbappe would accept playing as a number nine, or if Vinicius would be moved inside to accommodate the former Paris Saint-Germain superstar. In recent seasons, Mbappe has often been used through the middle, something he was not particularly keen on, if you read the French press.

While discussing Mbappe’s ill-fated trip to Sweden, and the handling of the French captaincy, Petit went out of his way to send a message to Mbappe. He does not feel he has been the same player since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“Listen, if I was close to Kylian Mbappe right now, if I was one of his best friends. I would tell him something very simple. Kylian, please, just come back the way you were. Just focus on the pitch, on your objectives. Stop focusing on what’s going on off the pitch, in terms of image and communication. Just concentrate on what you have to do on the pitch, to become and be again one of the best players in the world.”

He feels that Mbappe has only occasionally made the headlines for his football since 2022, and it’s affecting his game, as well as a tangible change in his style of play.

“Since the World Cup in Qatar, every time we talk about Mbappe in France, it’s about troubles with his club, with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, with the captaincy, the national team, I don’t want to play as a number nine, I want the captaincy, I want the penalty. Come on…”

“Just focus on your game, just come back the way you were a few years ago, where you were amazing on the pitch, as you showed the first few years of your career. Because you changed your game now. You don’t play with your speed, your pace, it’s not the same any more. I know that a player has to change, and to evolve during their career, but he needs to just focus on his game, and not on the noise. That’s my advice,” Petit told Football España exclusively.

The 25-year-old became famous for his runs coming off the left-hand side, but whether by accident or design, Mbappe has not been seen scoring similar goals to the ones that Vinicius Junior authored on Tuesday night against Borussia Dortmund. So far Mbappe has done a relatively good job of keeping his head below the parapet since moving to Los Blancos, although the exception is rather notable, being his trip to Stockholm two weeks ago.

Image via Denis Doyle/Getty Images