Difficult moments and a firm voice in the press room for an authority in the Real Madrid dugout: that of its best player, Kylian Mbappe. The team’s top scorer, with 30 goals, faced a delicate press conference after what happened on Saturday at the Bernabeu and a week full of thorns with the dismissal of Xabi Alonso and the Copa del Rey defeat in Albacete.
After remembering the victims of the terrible train accident in Adamuz, Mbappe began to answer questions calmly and with a message that was as calm as it was forceful.Whistling against Levante: “I understand the people. Before I was a footballer I was a young man who watched the games, if I was not happy, I whistled. The only opportunity for Madrid fans is that. I didn’t like that they whistled more at some players. It’s the fault of the whole team. We have the character to change that. Madrid fans are angry, but they are with us”.Bellingham and Vinicius: “It’s not Vinicius’ fault if we don’t play as we should. It’s the fault of the whole squad. The Madrid fans don’t have to pick on a player and whistle at him alone. We have to change the situation and we know it. We are going to do it”.Vinicius’ state: “He’s a person, a human. It’s normal for him to be touched. He’s a great player and an incredible man. We have to protect him better, me too, so that he’s not alone. He’s never going to be alone at Madrid. The whole club is with him.”
If he were Vinicius?:”I’m not Vini. [Laughs]. I have no advice to give him, he has known all the stages of the club. I’m nobody to give him advice. When Vini is happy, he is different.”
Xabi Alonso: “To say that Xabi Alonso did not succeed at Madrid is not true. He left before the titles were decided. Xabi is going to be a great coach. I have a great relationship with him and I wish him the best. He knows a lot about modern football, it is a decision of the club that must be respected. Now there is a coach that we have to help”.Did you talk to Xabi?:“Yes, I spoke to him when the news broke. I wanted to support him because it’s never easy. It’s not my responsibility to say whether it’s fair or unfair. Football is like that. It’s the life of the high-level football world. You have to defend the Madrid badge”.His trip to Jeddah: “I travel because I want to play every game. That’s the way I am. If I have the opportunity, I will go to every game. We made a plan to come back in the Super Cup. It was sad to watch the game against Atleti from here. But also going to support the team is important. I try to play as much as I can”.Whistles for Xabi’s dismissal: “It’s possible. I understand the frustration of the people and the whistles. When I was a child, I believed that everything that was said on TV was true. Sometimes it’s opinion, but our job is to compete”.More from Xabi: “I’m not going to play dumb, of course things have happened. It’s the life of a big club. There are many things that are said that are not true. It’s not right but we accept it”.
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