Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé: Criticism is an ‘overinterpretation’

Kylian Mbappé‘s entourage have hit back at criticism of the Real Madrid forward’s behaviour as he recovers from injury, calling attacks on the star’s conduct an “overinterpretation” and insisting that his schedule has been “strictly supervised by the club.”

Mbappé suffered a hamstring strain in Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis on April 24 and has since been unavailable, but some fans have reacted angrily to the star being pictured on holiday in Paris and Sardinia in recent days.

The player returned to Madrid on Sunday evening — just as his teammates were kicking off in a 2-0 win at Espanyol which kept the LaLiga title race alive for another week — and has been back at the club’s Valdebebas training ground this week.

After growing criticism in the Madrid media, Mbappé’s representatives provided a statement to the news agency AFP on Tuesday.

“Part of the criticism is based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, and does not reflect the reality of Kylian’s commitment and daily work for the team,” the statement said.

Coach Álvaro Arbeloa also defended Mbappé’s conduct when questioned on Sunday.

“All the planning regarding the injured players is supervised by Real Madrid medical staff,” Arbeloa said. “They control when the players have to be at Valdebebas. In their free time the players can do as they see fit … I don’t doubt the commitment of any of my players.”

Mbappé is LaLiga’s top scorer with 24 goals this season — as well as 15 in the Champions League — but is now approaching the end of his second successive campaign without winning a major trophy since joining Madrid in 2024.

Madrid have endured a difficult season, with coach Xabi Alonso being fired in January and replaced by Arbeloa.

The team are second in LaLiga, 11 points behind leaders Barcelona with four games left, and must beat Barça in Sunday’s Clásico to avoid their rivals being crowned champions.

Arbeloa said on Sunday that Mbappé’s fitness would be assessed ahead of the game at Camp Nou, although initial tests had suggested his absence would be longer.