McManaman on Mbappe and Vinicius at Real Madrid: Pressure and Fit Issues
Steve McManaman believes the weight on Kylian Mbappe’s shoulders at Real Madrid is “off the scale” – and he’s not convinced the superstar pairing with Vinicius Junior truly fits yet.
Speaking to GOAL on behalf of ESPN on Disney+, with Jose Mourinho set for his first La Liga game back in charge when Real visit Espanyol on Saturday, the former Madrid midfielder painted a blunt picture of the current landscape at the Bernabeu.
“It’s strange,” McManaman said. “It’s not a criticism, it's just the pieces don't fit together at the moment at Madrid, that's all it is.”
For him, the issue isn’t individual quality. Far from it.
On their own, Mbappe and Vinicius dominate. “Individually, when they're suspended or one's injured or one's off the field, both of them are the kings of the jungle,” he said. “They're the best players on the pitch, they're the ones who really stand out and look like incredible superstar players.”
The problem comes when the two share the stage.
“But when they're together, what has shown over the last couple of years is that they haven't won anything,” McManaman pointed out. At Real Madrid, that is unforgivable. “If you follow Real Madrid, you follow La Liga, you know it’s either win or it's a disaster. When Barcelona are winning everything else and beating you in finals along the way, it is a disaster.”
Madrid have flirted with success. They’ve been close in the Copa del Rey. They’ve pushed in the Supercopa. They’ve suffered late goals, squandered chances, felt trophies slip away at the final turn. All the while, Barcelona have strengthened and twisted the knife.
“They've come very close in Copa del Rey games, in the Super Cup, losing last-minute goals, missing chances but you have to get over the line,” McManaman said. “And when it's Barcelona who have also strengthened, that's when it starts to get precarious.”
The fans have made their feelings clear. Second place is not a cushion; it’s a bruise.
“You know the fans let it be known on a number of occasions last year about the team - even though they finished second and went down fighting to a Bayern Munich team in the Champions League and I thought the performance against them was good.”
So Madrid are not broken, in his eyes. Just short. Agonisingly short.
“So they're not far away,” he argued, “but they just need a little bit of powder, a little bit of special magic and whether Jose brings that or whether the new signings bring it, we'll wait and see.”
Mourinho’s return, combined with Barcelona’s own statement move for Rodri, sets up a combustible season.
“We all hope it's going to be a magnificent year and I think it will be and I think there'll be fireworks and I think it'll be great as well with Rodri signing for Barcelona - that just chucks another superstar into the mix.”
But strip away the noise, and McManaman sees Mourinho’s job description as brutally simple.
“It doesn't matter, Jose's been brought in to finish Barcelona, to beat Barcelona and beat Barcelona again and again and again and that's all it is,” he said. “Anybody can go into Real Madrid today, you could go in and finish second, I could go in and finish second, what they've been doing and letting the superstars run the show, but Jose's been brought in for a reason.”
That reason is rooted in trust from the very top. Florentino Perez has gone back to a coach he knows, a personality he believes can handle the storm.
“Florentino trusts him, he believes that he can get the best out of whoever it is, control the egos, whatever the dressing room says,” McManaman explained. “I don't think it's as bad as it's being portrayed because there's always egos in that dressing room and they're all very professional, but it's up to Jose to get over the line.”
The remit could not be clearer.
“Simple as that, no more no less, he just has to win.”
