Civil war in the stands! Why a section of Madrid fans still refuse to back Mbappe
Even a World Cup summer full of goals could not fully heal the wound: a section of the Santiago Bernabeu still has its arms folded when it comes to Kylian Mbappe.
Details: COPE's Juanma Castaño has laid out why some Real Madrid fans refuse to get behind the Frenchman: no trophies with him, the belief he made teammates worse, memories that he initially did not want to come, and a sense he does whatever he wants. The journalist added that at the end of last season, fans felt his mind was on the World Cup rather than Madrid.
The resentment has deep roots. Mbappe was whistled on his return from injury in May, jeered after a Sardinia holiday during a Clasico week, and even targeted by an online Mbappe Out petition that gathered tens of millions of signatures, a figure that raised serious questions about its authenticity. Yet the counterargument is powerful: the Frenchman scored six goals in four World Cup games for France, and at club level he has remained Madrid's most reliable scorer while the team went trophyless for a second straight season. With Mourinho now in charge and Diomande arriving to stretch attacks, the Bernabeu cold war is one of the season's defining subplots, because in Madrid, nothing silences dissent like silverware.
It's worth noting that Mbappe has consistently defended teammates like Vinicius and Bellingham from jeers, urging fans to direct criticism at the whole team rather than individuals.
Reminder: Real Madrid fans suspect Mbappe may have left Spain before the match.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
