Luis Enrique famously used NBA legend Michael Jordan to make a point to Mbappe about the importance of defending from the front in the Frenchman’s final year at PSG. “Michael Jordan used to grab all his team-mates by the balls and defend like a son of a b*tch,” said the PSG boss. “You have to set an example, first as a person and as a player, to go.”
It’s possible that the PSG boss also gave Dembele that advice when he took over as the team’s lead attacker, because the Barcelona flop suddenly became a pressing monster as the Ligue 1 giants stormed to a historic treble in 2024-25. Dembele was also rewarded with his maiden Ballon d’Or, while Mbappe finished seventh in the 2025 vote, having seemingly forgotten Luis Enrique’s words after transitioning from Paris to Madrid.
Mbappe doesn’t think he needs to work as hard as his team-mates, as he admitted on The Bridge podcast during the March international break. “I’m a player who defends a little less than others, and sometimes that can be a problem. It’s true that I do it less, but I notice that when I do, it really impacts the team. At Real Madrid, when I do it, you can see that everyone else is doing it too.”
That attitude is precisely why he’s never won a Golden Ball or the Champions League. Rather than making a concerted effort to improve that side of his game, Mbappe passes the buck. He’s basically suggesting that if the rest of the Real team kept running themselves into the ground, his laziness wouldn’t matter.
It matters whatever way he spins it. Madrid’s press is too easy to beat because Mbappe neglects to do any closing down, and he doesn’t even try to run back. Even more worryingly, he doesn’t do his job as a central striker when Real have the ball, moving out wide instead of attacking the penalty area like the club’s last great No.9, Karim Benzema, did so brilliantly.
