All is not well for Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid. When he made his long-awaited move to the Spanish capital in the summer, the expectation was that he would score bundles of goals, ascend to even further stardom and fire Los Blancos to yet more silverware.
But things have not gone entirely to plan so far. The 25-year-old has scored a measly seven goals in 12 La Liga appearances - low by his usually prolific standards - and just one in four Champions League matches. He has netted just three times in his last 10 games in all competitions and missed a penalty against Liverpool on Wednesday night.
While there is certainly no need for panic, there is a growing sense of impatience from both the player and Real Madrid’s famously demanding supporters. Mbappe will be eager to get back in the goals against Getafe in La Liga this weekend.
Guti assesses 'difficult' Mbappe situation
And former Real Madrid midfielder Guti, who spent 15 years at the club, has given his verdict on Mbappe’s form, admitting that the France international looks to be lacking confidence.
“We would all like to know what is happening to Mbappe,” Guti told Mundo Deportivo. “He looks unconfident, shy… Moments before taking the penalty he looked scared. In that sense he is surely not happy with his performance and wants something more.
“There is a lack of confidence, and to that you add that Real Madrid were waiting for him very anxiously and that he has come out of his PSG bubble in which he had everything under control.
“Mbappe has now come to another team where he will surely have to compete with great players to be the best, and all that costs. And the Real Madrid shirt is difficult. And that’s normal. It’s difficult to think that a player adapts so quickly and so quickly to a club like Real Madrid, where it’s very difficult to play.”
Despite his concerns about Mbappe, Guti urged Real Madrid to persist with Mbappe. Carlo Ancelotti has plenty of attacking options at his disposal, although Brazilian duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior are currently out injured.
“Taking him out of the team would be the worst of remedies, but we do have to protect him,” Guti added. “And that’s why he’s at the best club. Real Madrid, Florentino Perez and Ancelotti are going to protect him because we all believe in him. I believe in him.
“The easy thing is to criticise and say that he’s not good enough, but Mbappe is one of the best players in the world.”
Real Madrid are currently four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, while languishing in 24th in the Champions League league phase, and they will be looking towards Mbappe to fire them back into title contention.
