Does Kylian Mbappe Make Teams Worse?

Does Kylian Mbappe Make Teams Worse?

Kylian Mbappe is widely regarded as the best talent in the soccer world right now.  At only 27, Mbappe has a stacked resume featuring a World Cup win, World Cup golden boot, 17 top goal scorer awards across all competitions and a favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. 

However, despite his vast individual success a lot of club success has eluded Mbappe. Mbappe won six league titles at Paris Saint Germain, but PSG have notoriously held Ligue One in a chokehold as the perennial top team. PSG struggled outside of France during Mbappe’s tenure with the club despite having world class talent surrounding him. 

PSG bought Mbappe and Neymar Jr. in the same window in 2017 with aspirations of Champions League trophies.

However, PSG failed to make any strides in Europe. The furthest PSG made it with Neymar and Mbappe was the Champions League final in the 2019-2020 season where they lost 1-0 to German side Bayern Munich. Outside of that, PSG mostly exited in the round of 16 with the two stars. 

Then Lionel Messi joined in 2021 and bolstered the already elite attack. Mbappe was firmly entering his prime with Messi and Neymar still at the tailend of theirs. Seemingly only the sky was the limit for the elite trio. 

PSG once again crashed out in the round of 16 following a comeback win by Real Madrid in the second leg after leading 2-0 on aggregate. 

The following season ended much the same in the Champions League, with PSG losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

The trio’s final year together saw them reach the semifinals where they lost to Borussia Dortmund. 

Following a third disappointing Champions League campaign and budding tempers in the squad, Mbappe left for Spanish juggernauts Real Madrid. Madrid were coming off their second league title and Champions League trophy in three years when Mbappe joined. His signing instantly made Madrid the favorite to repeat in the competition. 

However, Madrid failed to win either competition the following season. With Mbappe leading the line, Madrid fell to Arsenal in the quarterfinals and finished second in the league behind FC Barcelona. The next season was a similar story, losing to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals and finishing runners up to Barcelona. 

PSG went on to win their first ever Champions League the season after Mbappe left, repeating as champions the following season. 

Every team Mbappe has featured for has had all the talent and manpower in the world, so why do they keep failing? 

The answer could potentially point to Mbappe himself. After leaving PSG, reports surfaced that Mbappe was allegedly jealous of co-star Messi while they played together. Neymar Jr. claimed that ego was a large part of why the trio never worked out. 

Teams Mbappe has been a part of also constantly have a revolving door of coaches, which could indicate some correlation to the ego statements. PSG went through four different managers while Mbappe played there. Since joining Madrid, Mbappe has already played under four different managers in the three years at the club. 

Now under legendary manager Jose Mourinho, Madrid sit fourth in the La Liga table entering the international break. The team has meshed well on occasion this season but still seem to falter in big moments, losing a close fought game with rivals Atletico Madrid. Another season of failure in La Liga and the Champions League could mean another new manager and another disappointment for Mbappe at Madrid. 

The correlation between Mbappe and teams failing to hit the mark is obvious and has followed Mbappe for nearly 10 seasons. Despite being one of the best players in the world, teams repeatedly perform better when he does not play. At what point do we start realizing that Mbappe may be the problem, not everyone around him.