During an exclusive interview with MARCA, former Real Madrid midfielder and club icon Sami Khedira praised marquee summer signing Kylian Mbappe and backed him to succeed at the Santiago Bernabeu despite an iffy start in Spain.
Mbappe arrived at Real Madrid this past summer after a long wait and generated a lot of hype, given his status as one of the best forwards in the game in the current era.
However, things have not gone as per plans for the French superstar at the Spanish capital club, and his dodgy form has led to question marks over not only him but also manager Carlo Ancelotti and his capability to get the best out of the ex-PSG man.
Khedira insists Mbappe will come good, needs time to adapt
However, according to Khedira, despite Mbappe’s slow start at Real Madrid, he remains ‘one of the five best players in the world’ and will eventually succeed at the club once he has proper time to adapt to his new situation.
“Mbappe is one of the five best players in the world, but football is not just about buying the best players and putting them on the pitch. You have to adapt them well to the team,” said Khedira.
Citing one of the main issues for Mbappe’s struggles, Khedira insisted that Los Blancos first need to find out the forward’s best position in the team.
“The first problem that needs to be solved is where Mbappe plays, because he has come to a team where there was already a top player in his place, like Vinicius,” he said.
Continuing, the former Germany midfielder added that Mbappe needs to learn to live with the expectations at a club like Real Madrid, as he said: “And then there’s another thing: PSG is not Real Madrid. Madrid is the biggest brand in the world, the expectations are different.
“You go to Asia, you go to Africa, you go to the United States? And what do they talk about? About Real Madrid. They expect 50 goals a season from Mbappe, that’s the reality.”
Khedira once again touched upon the adaptation issue, saying: “It’s not easy, because he has to adapt to La Liga, to Spain, he hasn’t done pre-season… Even great players have to adapt.
“I don’t know him personally, but I think he also needs to connect with the team and that’s the job of the technical staff.
“We have to get the best out of him, putting him in the place where he can perform best. The results and the dynamics of the team don’t help him either.”
Citing the example of his former teammate Luka Modric, Khedira concluded: “But if I have to bet, I think Mbappe will succeed. Look at Modric, at the beginning nobody thought he would become this legend.”
