Kylian Mbappé finally got his dream move to Real Madrid in 2024, but the two years since haven’t matched the fairytale. Despite scoring 44 goals in his debut season and 42 in his second, he’s gone trophyless in both, and last season in particular was a turbulent one for the Frenchman at the Bernabéu.
He’d hoped to put that right by lifting the World Cup with France this summer. That dream is gone too — Les Bleus fell to Spain in the semi-final. Rubbing salt in the wound, his old club Paris Saint-Germain have now won back-to-back Champions League titles since he left, fuelling a narrative that his departure actually helped PSG move forward.
A new coach, a familiar blueprint
With his back against the wall, Mbappé is reportedly putting himself fully behind new head coach José Mourinho, according to Marca — hoping the Portuguese can help him reach the level of his childhood idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s a meaningful pairing: Mourinho was the manager who got the best out of his compatriot during Ronaldo’s first Real Madrid spell, overseeing the 2012–13 season in which Ronaldo scored 60 goals in all competitions — still the individual benchmark by which every Bernabéu No. 7 gets measured.
The parallel runs deeper than the shirt number. Ronaldo was 27 when he hit that 60-goal peak — the exact age Mbappé is now entering this new Mourinho era. Former interim boss Álvaro Arbeloa had already floated the comparison earlier this year, saying he saw no reason Mbappé couldn’t eventually chase down Ronaldo’s Madrid numbers, while stressing the Portuguese great’s nine-year, 450-goal Bernabéu career gives him a considerable head start.
What comes next
Mbappé is now heading into a three-week break after a demanding season and World Cup campaign. When he returns, the pressure will be immediate — a new coach, a squad reshaped by four summer signings, and a fanbase waiting to see whether the club’s record-fee gamble finally pays off in silverware rather than just goals.
RMxtra Verdict
Mourinho’s task is straightforward to state and difficult to deliver: turn individual brilliance into team success, the way he once did with Ronaldo. If he can do it again, Mbappé’s third season at the Bernabéu could be the one where the goals finally come with trophies attached.