The relationship between Álvaro Arbeloa and Kylian Mbappé is going through its most delicate moment since the French striker’s arrival at Real Madrid. The statements made by both men after the last game at the Bernabéu generated great controversy and, as usual, social networks quickly searched for old posts.
Key details
In the last few hours, an old message from Arbeloa on the social network X, dated June 30, 2018, published shortly after the Frenchman’s gala performance at the World Cup in Russia, went viral. The current Merengues coach wrote a compliment to the striker at the time, without imagining that, years later, he would have him under his wing.
«Mbappé is like young Luke Skywalker. You know that, sooner or later, you will dominate the world. It’s a beast!”, published Arbeloa on his official account.
The context of that publication was very different from today. Mbappé was just 19 years old and had just performed one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the World Cup. The Whites’ current number 10 destroyed Argentina with a combination of speed, audacity and precision unusual for his age: he provoked the penalty for the first goal after a run of more than 50 meters, scored two goals and was a constant nightmare for the Albiceleste defense.
In that game, which ended in a 4-3 victory and France’s qualification, Mbappé presented his candidacy for the throne of world football, leaving the feeling that a new superstar had been born. A month later, PSG made its purchase official for around 180 million euros.
In turn, Arbeloa was also going through a very different phase. The former Real Madrid player had ended his career two years earlier, in 2016, after a spell at West Ham, and was taking his first steps off the pitch before starting his career as a coach at the Madrid club’s academy. Seven years later, that message resurfaced with force, highlighting the contrast between the public admiration then and the tension that now marks their relationship at the club.
Read more in La Liga news. and related tags: Real Madrid, World of.