Real Madrid News
Real Madrid superstar in ‘great’ physical shape after vacation – report
Kylian Mbappe participated in only one pre-season game for Real Madrid this summer, and it was the clash against Schalke at the weekend.
Starting that game as his first appearance under Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman took just six minutes to get on the scoresheet once more.
The player is coming off a sensational World Cup, where he led France from the front and finished as the top scorer in the event. Back at Real Madrid, he immediately elevated the attack and returned to the scoresheet in his only pre-season appearance ahead of the new season.
Mbappe has returned hungry
As reported by Diario AS in a recent update, sources from within the club make it clear that a ‘new’ Mbappe has returned after the World Cup and the summer vacation.
The player has arrived in great physical shape and is ready for any game-state from the get-go. His physical condition is said to be sensational according to the club.
More importantly, the player has returned with a real hunger for titles and wins this time around, possibly owing to the disappointment left in him by the World Cup. His hunger and desire, needless to say, only make him a more frightening opponent.
A hunt for titles
Kylian Mbappe left PSG for Real Madrid in the summer of 2024, and it has become a common storyline for the player to be reminded that his former club have won every UEFA Champions League title since his departure.
Meanwhile, the Real Madrid forward has nothing to show as a major trophy won with the club as the first team has not won a single major title in the past two seasons.
That situation was the reason Jose Mourinho was urgently called back to the club, and Mbappe will look to change the narrative under the new manager.
With a fresh squad reinforced by new signings, Real Madrid have a formidable team this time around and will look to gun down every title they compete for. The Frenchman will be crucial on that front, not only as a striker but as a leader.
Real Madrid and Inter Milan are two clubs where history carries an unusual amount of weight.
The white shirt of Real Madrid and the famous black-and-blue stripes of Inter have been worn by some of football’s greatest players, with both clubs demanding not only talent but the ability to handle enormous expectations.
Moving between the two is therefore no ordinary career decision.
The clubs operate in different football cultures, compete in different domestic environments and have their own tactical traditions, but the pressure attached to representing either institution is remarkably similar.
Despite that, a select group of players have experienced both worlds.
Some arrived at Real Madrid after making their name in Italy, while another made his reputation in Madrid before becoming a key figure in one of Inter’s greatest teams.
On that note, here are three footballers you might have forgotten who represented both Real Madrid and Inter Milan during their careers.
Roberto Carlos: From Inter disappointment to Real Madrid legend
Few players are as synonymous with Real Madrid as Roberto Carlos.
The Brazilian left-back became a cult hero at the Santiago Bernabeu, but his European journey took him to Italy before Madrid. In 1995, he joined Inter Milan and spent one season with the Nerazzurri.
It was a productive campaign on an individual level. Roberto Carlos made 34 appearances and scored seven goals, which is an extraordinary return for a defender and an early indication of the attacking qualities that would eventually make him one of the most recognisable full-backs in football.
His time in Milan, though, lasted only a season.
Real Madrid moved to sign him, and the transfer proved to be one of the most important pieces of business in the club’s modern history.
Roberto Carlos would spend 11 seasons in the Spanish capital and establish himself as one of the defining players of his generation.
Across his Madrid career, he made 584 appearances in all competitions and scored 71 goals.
During his time, the Brazilian won four La Liga titles and was part of the team that reached three Champions League finals in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Madrid won all three.
The 2002 final against Bayer Leverkusen produced one of the defining moments of that era.
Roberto Carlos delivered the cross that Zinedine Zidane spectacularly converted for the winning goal, securing another European crown for Madrid.
Fabio Cannavaro: A Ballon d’Or winner in Madrid
Fabio Cannavaro’s connection with both clubs is perhaps less widely remembered, particularly because the Italian defender’s reputation is strongly associated with his homeland and Real Madrid.
Cannavaro developed through Napoli and Parma before earning a move to Inter Milan in 2002.
The Nerazzurri reportedly paid around €23 million for the centre-back, handing him a four-year contract.
His start at Inter was encouraging, but the relationship eventually became complicated.
Cannavaro left the club in 2004 and joined Juventus, where he spent two seasons before another major move changed the course of his career.
In 2006, Real Madrid signed him from Juventus for a reported €7 million.
That same year, he captained Italy to World Cup glory and produced a series of outstanding performances during the tournament.
His achievements were recognised on an individual level too, as he won the 2006 Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Cannavaro spent three seasons at Real Madrid and added domestic success to his already extraordinary year.
He won La Liga in both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, becoming an important defensive figure during Madrid’s successful campaigns.
His Inter career never reached the same heights, and Cannavaro himself has spoken critically about aspects of his experience there.
But his journey from Inter to Juventus and eventually Real Madrid produced one of the most decorated defensive careers of his generation.
Esteban Cambiasso: Madrid academy product turned Inter great
Esteban Cambiasso’s story is arguably the most interesting of the three because, unlike Roberto Carlos and Cannavaro, he began his connection with Real Madrid at youth level.
The Argentine midfielder joined Madrid’s academy at a young age alongside his brother Nicolas.
After returning to Argentina to gain regular first-team football with Independiente and River Plate, Cambiasso eventually returned to Madrid.
He became part of the first-team setup in 2002 and enjoyed a trophy-winning spell with the club.
Cambiasso won La Liga, the Intercontinental Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup during his time in Madrid.
Yet his stay in the Spanish capital ultimately came to an end when his contract expired in 2004 and the club decided against renewing it.
That decision opened the door to Inter, where he truly established himself as one of the finest midfielders of his generation.
He spent a decade with the Nerazzurri, becoming an important figure in one of the most successful periods in the club’s history.
Cambiasso won five league titles during his time at Inter and became particularly important in Jose Mourinho’s side.
In the 2009-10 season, Cambiaso’s Inter won the Champions League by defeating Bayern Munich in the final, completing a historic treble.
Samuel
August 18, 2026 at 9:31 am
Mbappe scoring just one goal? That’s not enough to win real Madrid trophies he will have to be scoring more goals in each game. Let him much his earnings, one goal that’s a big joke, and that way it will end again a trophy less season for Real Madrid. He should stop that nonese of scoring one goal.