In the wake of Vinicius Junior’s outstanding Champions League performance against Borussia Dortmund, former England international Jamie Carragher let loose on Kylian Mbappé… The former Liverpool defender was blunt in his criticism of the French star, who has his work cut out for him.
Real Madrid are coming off a benchmark victory on Tuesday. Having struggled ahead of their clash with Borussia Dortmund, the leaders of the Champions League group stage – a new format before the third round is played this week – Florentino Pérez’s club made their mark. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Carlo Ancelotti’s side turned things around in the second half to win 5-2. Vinicius Junior was completely transcendent after the interval, scoring a remarkable hat-trick.
With this incredible strike, the Brazilian winger completely overshadowed the fine performance of Kylian Mbappé (decisive on two goals) and above all Rodrygo Goes, who Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin sees as the real catalyst for Real Madrid’s revival. While everyone is bowing down to Vinicius Junior, who is more than ever the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or 2024, which will be awarded next Monday at the Théâtre des Châtelet in Paris, France, Jamie Carragher had this to say on KM9.
Carragher doesn’t see Mbappé as the best player in the world
The French striker, who arrived in Madrid with much fanfare in the summer and has made a good start to the season with eight goals, sees the works of Vini forcing him to work tenfold to achieve his personal goals. Given the current situation, where it is Vinicius who has been carrying Carlo Ancelotti’s team for months, the former Liverpool defender (1996-2013, 737 games for 5 goals) believes Real Madrid made a mistake in going after Kylian Mbappé, on the pretext that he is the star the team needs.
“Real Madrid thought they had bought the best player in the world (Mbappé) when they already had the best player in the world. Enjoy your Ballon d’Or, Vini,” said Carragher in comments relayed by Mundo Deportivo. It is a powerful statement that will resonate in the mind of the France captain, who will have his work cut out if he wants to collect the individual trophies that are missing from his trophy cabinet.
At the age of 25, the former PSG player, who arrived at Real Madrid to give meaning to a career that was stagnating in Ligue 1, is up against some stiff competition. In addition to Vinicius, Jude Bellingham, who is also putting in some big performances, is lining up to establish himself as the star of the team. We’ll see by the end of the season whether KM9 will find the net again and shine in the big games to make his mark. Saturday’s Clasico will be another opportunity for Madrid’s top players to shine.
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