Real Madrid News
Kylian Mbappe’s camp issues statement amid wave of criticism over Italy trip
Kylian Mbappe finds himself in the line of fire in the Real Madrid sphere of late, following his recent trip to Italy during his recovery from an injury.
The Frenchman flew to Italy with his partner Ester Exposito last week while his teammates were preparing for the La Liga game against RCD Espanyol, landing just before kickoff on Sunday.
This has sparked strong reactions not only from the Real Madrid fans, but also within the club, with reports suggesting that the dressing room is far from pleased with the 27-year-old superstar.
Mbappe’s camp addresses criticism
Mbappe, for his part, has maintained silence throughout this wave of criticism directed towards him from fans and the Spanish media.
Now, though, his camp has finally issued a statement on the situation, hitting back at the critics, claiming that the entire issue is being ‘overinterpreted’.
“Part of the criticisms are based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club,” the statement read, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Kylian Mbappe’s camp reacts with a statement to AFP on recent criticism.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 5, 2026
“Part of the criticisms are based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club”.
“This is NOT corresponding to the reality of the… pic.twitter.com/HDIaLrJYUI
There had even been speculations that Mbappe had decided to switch his focus to the World Cup after Real Madrid crashed out of the UEFA Champions League.
“This is not corresponding to the reality of the commitment and the work that Kylian does daily for the good of the team,” it further added, suggesting that the Frenchman remains fully committed to Real Madrid.
There seems to be a lot of tension in the locker room at Real Madrid at the moment, with Mbappe himself understood to have been involved in a heated altercation with one of Alvaro Arbeloa’s staff members during a training session.
Given how the season has panned out, there are bound to be frustrations within the squad and the staff. As far as Real Madrid are concerned, they will hope that these issues do not become a bigger problem and that the team can refocus on the upcoming El Clasico.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
