“Mbappé? Doing what Ronaldo did at Real Madrid is impossible”
Ilicic spoke about the French forward on the eve of the clash between Real Madrid and Atalanta in the Champions League
Josip Ilicic , who went through a bad phase that almost ended his career, but thanks to his recovery efforts, returned to play a game for the Slovenian national team, 955 days later, spoke about Kylian Mbappé ‘s first months at Real Madrid .
“I think there is a fundamental error. In Mbappé ’s role there is a player who almost won the Ballon d’Or. And he is having to adapt as a centre forward and I don’t see him doing well there. You can see that he is always trying to open up where Vinícius Júnior is and, honestly, I expected that. He is struggling a lot as a striker, he has less space and little support to free himself. Added to this is the pressure and enormous expectations.
People imagined they would see him do what Cristiano [ Ronaldo ] did and that is impossible. Messi and Ronaldo were from another planet. Furthermore, in France he felt more defended. At Real Madrid , the demands are maximum and until you score goals you are worthless. Real Madrid lack a reference up front, a Benzema , who can also play with his back to goal, something that Mbappé struggles with a lot. “I hope he also suffers in Bergamo,” he said in an interview with AS, referring to the duel between Real Madrid and Atalanta , the club he represented, counting towards the sixth round of the Champions League .
The Slovenian international recalled Covid-19 and the difficult times that almost caused him to end his career.
“I was starting to feel different about myself. I couldn’t cope anymore. If you’re not in a good place mentally, you can’t cope physically. And if I can’t give everything, I prefer to take a step back. I wouldn’t accept being on the bench and football isn’t just about money. If I hadn’t, I would have gone to China or Saudi Arabia. Football is about love. Ever since I could walk, the ball has always been with me. After a month of confinement, I asked the club to leave. I was suffering too much without my family,” he said.
