Real Madrid News
Neymar opens up on relationship with Mbappe at PSG – ‘When Messi came, he felt displaced’
Kylian Mbappe’s adaptation at Real Madrid was always an interesting topic of discussion, especially given that he would have to share the spotlight with Vinicius Jr who was already the club’s protagonist.
However, it was not the first time Mbappe had to share the spotlights with equal or better players as he was part of the same dressing room as Neymar and Lionel Messi during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
Neymar speaks on Mbappe’s ego
Speaking in a recent conversation on Romario TV via SPORT, Barcelona legend and former PSG superstar Neymar Jr spoke on his time in France, and in the process revealed some interesting facts about Kylian Mbappe.
To begin with, he revealed that the new Real Madrid star felt threatened by the arrival of Lionel Messi to the club and did not want to ‘share’ Neymar with him.
“I think he felt displaced, he didn’t want to share me with anyone,” he said on Mbappe’s reaction to Messi’s arrival.
Diving deeper into the topic, he compared the Frenchman’s attitude before the Argentine star’s arrival and that after it.
“I have my things with him. We had a little fight. At first, when I arrived, Mbappe was fundamental for the team. I called him Golden Boy and joked that he would be one of the best in the world.”
“I always helped him. We had good years of companionship. Then, when Messi came, I think he felt displaced. He didn’t want to share myself with anyone. He totally changed and the fights began,” he added.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid explored moves for Man City and Inter Milan stars before Ibrahima Konate transfer
Real Madrid’s summer activity saw the club bring in Ibrahima Konate on a free transfer. The former Liverpool star was one of many players to join the club in the summer.
While Konate has proven to be a shrewd piece of business, the club have once again lacked depth in central defence.
They have not been helped by the fact that Eder Militao is still out with an injury while David Alaba left in the club in the summer.
Real Madrid chose Ibrahima over Bastoni and Dias
According to Fabrizio Romano (h/t Madrid Zone), Real Madrid were fairly ambitious in the summer, as far as their defensive reinforcements plans were concerned.
The club had targeted a move for Alessandro Bastoni, which is not a secret at this point as arch rivals Barcelona were also interested. But inter Milan had no desire to sell, and the player ended up remaining at the club.
But one more player Real Madrid were targeting in the summer was Manchester City star Ruben Dias, who is considered one of the best in the Premier League.
Ultimately, though, Real Madrid abandoned the pursuit of both Dias and Bastoni in order to chose Konate. It did take a while for Los Blancos to convince the former Liverpool star to jump ship and join Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer.
What’s next for Real Madrid?
Seeing the lack of depth in central defence this season, Real Madrid are once again expected to enter the market for a new centre-back.
Romano had earlier claimed that the club are keen on signing a centre-back, as well as a midfielder for the summer of 2027, with Jarrel Quansah as a potential target.
But given the way Real Madrid have struggled with a lack of options at the heart of the backline, it won’t be surprising to see the club make a move for a new centre-back in the upcoming January transfer window.
It will be equally interesting to see what transpires with the future of Raul Asencio, who is no longer a valued member of the first-team and the club remain determined to offload him in the near future.
