Kylian Mbappe facing same ‘big star’ problem at Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo – with former team-mate of CR7 reacting to ‘arrogant’ criticism of French forward

The situation Mbappe finds himself in draws direct parallels to the era of Ronaldo at Madrid. Van der Vaart, who played alongside Ronaldo during his time in the Spanish capital, noted that having a “mega-star” in the squad often changes how teammates perform, sometimes to the detriment of the collective flow. He believes Mbappe is currently suffering from the same tactical gravity that once defined Ronaldo’s tenure.

“You know, in a big club like Real Madrid, everyone gets criticised as crazy,” Van der Vaart explained. “When Ronaldo played there and when he didn’t win, he also always got the blame. But what I noticed when I played there, it is not good to only have one big star. Listen, I was a number ten, and when I had the ball, I might have had a better option, but if Ronaldo was on the left, me and everybody passed him the ball, which isn’t good. It is difficult to have a big star in your team, but you have to manage that, because at the end of the day Ronaldo scored 60 goals per season, and Mbappe is doing the same.”