A little over a year ago, Karim Benzema (36) left Real Madrid after several years of good and loyal service. Replacing him was therefore a very complicated mission for the Merengues. Moreover, the Madrilenians did not directly recruit a world-class number 9, preferring to rely on the duo Rodrygo-Vinicius Jr while counting on the experienced Joselu. Which was rather successful for them since the residents of the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium, who were also able to count on a super Jude Bellingham, won the La Liga and the Champions League.
Benzema discusses the Mbappé case
Despite this, Florentino Pérez and his teams wanted to strengthen the offensive sector. Endrick (18 years old) and Kylian Mbappé (25 years old) thus arrived during the summer of 2024. If the Frenchman’s statistics are rather interesting, since he has already scored 8 goals and delivered 2 assists in 14 matches in all competitions, he is not yet evolving at its best level. The captain of the Blues, who has yet to find his place and automatisms with his teammates, is also singled out for his lack of defensive work. What some teammates would criticize him for.
Far from Madrid now, Karim Benzema, who knows KM9 well having played with him in the French team, always follows what is happening there very closely. During an interview given to El Chiringuito yesterday, he was also invited to give his opinion on the Kylian Mbappé case. “The problem for me is that Mbappé is not a center forward. Every time he plays with France at number 9, it’s not good, it’s not his position. The problem is that on the left, there is another player who is of the same level… you cannot put Vini on the right or as a center forward. Where it makes the difference is on the left. Let’s see how Ancelotti will deal with this.”
KM9 must do better
Then, when asked to give advice to his compatriot, the Nueve was clear. “Mbappé is not a 9. At Real Madrid, there is a lot of pressure, it’s not PSG. Any advice? He must not give up (…) I don’t think Ancelotti is going to displace Vinicius, he is currently the best in the world in this position. Mbappé must get it in his head that he must be a 9 and forget the left side. He was very good on the left and now we have to be good elsewhere. There is no doubt that the Bondynois will listen to the advice of a player who spent more than ten years with Casa Blanca. Moreover, Benzema compared his experience to that of the captain of the Blues.
“My situation, the first year, and that of Kylian are different. I was 21 and he was 25, it’s not the same thing. He knows there is a lot of pressure at Real Madrid. If you don’t score a goal for two or three matches, they will kill you. You can win the Ballon d’Or or whatever you want, if you go three matches without scoring, again… He has to learn to live with the pressure, which is very strong at Real Madrid. He has to put this pressure on himself every game, every game is new. He has to score goals, they brought you in to score goals only. He has the level and he has everything to achieve it. Mbappé knows what he has to do…
