Kylian Mbappe is back in the news as he continues to make his mark for Real Madrid. Former Casa Blanca player Alvaro Benito has issued an ultimatum to the France captain.

Since arriving at Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe has found it difficult to adapt. Even if he is doing well with some decisive goals, the Frenchman is still not at the top of his game. Against Celta Vigo last Saturday, Mbappe scored a golazo from outside the box to put Real Madrid ahead. But in the game, the Frenchman is not carrying out his defensive duties and sometimes refuses to go deep, as in a viral action with Jude Bellingham.

When asked about this, Carlo Ancelotti defended his No9, asking him to do exactly what a certain Karim Benzema did. “I prefer to see him score goals rather than press. The role of centre-forward hasn’t changed; I’m asking the same of him as I did of Karim. That he positions himself well and that he is intelligent in his movements, especially when we win the ball back to set up a quick transition,” Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference yesterday.

Alvaro Benito speaks the truth to Kylian Mbappé

Former Real Madrid player Alvaro Benito has taken a stand on the controversy. In statements relayed by Mundo Deportivo on Tuesday, the fact that Kylian Mbappe is being spared defensive efforts is acceptable provided he remains decisive in front of goal. For him, if KM9 scores 40 goals a season, no one will have any problem seeing him walk on to the pitch.

‘If Mbappé scores 40 goals for you and is super decisive, he’s like 007, he has the right not to run around,” said Benito, referring to football legends such as Ronaldo Nazário and Lionel Messi, who have also been exempted from certain defensive duties at certain points in their careers.

For Benito, this strategy is nothing new in football. When top strikers are capable of changing the outcome of a match with their attacking performances, they may be allowed to spare their efforts defensively. However, he stresses that this only works if the results follow. ‘If you’re spared the defensive effort and you’re not decisive in front of goal, tighten up a bit until you start scoring goals,“ he added.

The discussion was not limited to Mbappé. Álvaro Benito also mentioned Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid’s other key striker. ‘If Vinicius and Mbappé, as we’re seeing, save a lot of defensive runs, they have to give their all offensively,’ he said. But while this logic seems coherent, it depends largely on the consistency of Mbappé and Vinicius’ performances. So far, Mbappé has yet to fully live up to expectations in terms of goals scored since his arrival at Real Madrid.