Kylian Mbappe’s surprise absence from El Clasico has left one of the club’s key figures in the media in a state of fury.
Mbappe missed Real Madrid’s last match with a ‘muscle strain’ and caused anger by going on holiday with his girlfriend rather than attending in support of his teammates.
The France captain then returned to training, looking ready to at least take on Barcelona off the bench.
However, not only did Mbappe not even make the squad, he didn’t travel to Camp Nou, posting a social media picture watching from home, awkwardly with the score 2-0.
The striker’s behaviour in the week had caused anger as he drove past the media with his window down laughing, and now he’s got both barrels.
Tomas Roncero, the editor of AS and one of the leading Madrid voices in the media, was absolutely furious, particularly with the match against Barca having the title on the line.
Mbappe gets destroyed for Clasico absence
“I’m so naive that I was convinced he’d recovered in time,” he said. “When I saw him training with the group, I thought: ‘He’s going to want to start at the Camp Nou and spoil Barça’s party.’
“I was truly convinced he was going to start today. In the end, it is what it is.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s Mbappé Football Club.
“He does the things he likes to be the best himself, not the team.
“We can’t doubt a medical issue, but what bad luck, after the whole week, he feels discomfort on the very last day… come on, please.
“Talk to [Madrid legends] Camacho, Santillana, Juanito, and others. Before, there were important matches and people played through discomfort.
“What’s this about discomfort? You either had a broken arm or a broken leg, or you played.”
Attacking modern footballers as a whole, he finished: “Now they say football is more professional than before. That’s a lie.
“Before, a footballer, out of pride and passion, never gave up and never let his guard down.
“He has a wonderful medical team, every possible service, and an entire club working for him all week to cure that minor ailment.”
Eventually, Madrid lost the match 2-0, handing Barcelona the title in front of their faces.
Roncero was given some time to cool off, but chose not to.
Speaking on the radio after the game, he went for Mbappe again.
“Mbappe’s absence has been a relief,” he began. “I’m starting to see him as a stowaway on board, and I’d rather he wasn’t there.
“I’m sorry. I grew up with the Real Madrid of Pirri, who played with a broken collarbone, or Camacho, who kept playing with a head wound and refused stitches. It was a different kind of football. A different life. A different society.
“That’s why I became a Madrid fan, because of the people who prioritised collective, solidarity-based commitment. The feeling of defending a badge is above your ego.
“Suddenly, I’ve found myself with someone who, despite having the talent to be the best in the world—and look how fortunate he is—prefers to prioritise secondary matters.
“One day I’d like to sit down with Mbappé and tell him that what he likes most is nonsense. He’s so young. I’d tell him he’s a kid and that he’s been foolish, because glory was within his grasp and he preferred mundane things, things I have at 61.
“I thought he was very intelligent. A guy with a great head on his shoulders who handles his message well. I’ve been naive, because I’m a romantic. It’s a message for himself. He feeds off it.
“It’s ‘Mbappe-ism’ taken to its purest form. I’m almost hoping Muriqi [Verdat, of Real Mallorca] scores several goals and, by relaxing, takes the top scorer award from him. Then he’ll play.
“When Muriqi scores, he’ll play. What matters to him are his individual awards. That’s his business.”
Roncero continued: “It’s a disgrace that we Madrid fans, who have given our all to this lad, have to see this.
“‘I’m just having some discomfort, it started bothering me at the last minute.’ Well, you shouldn’t have gone to Italy, man! You should have stayed in Valdebebas with the physios and some Spartan music playing while you got there!
“But he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care that Barca is celebrating the title in front of us and he prefers not to be there.
“Thank goodness there are players who are true Madrid fans and will be there. By the way, one of them, who’s been heavily criticised, is Vinicius. With all his flaws, he’s always working hard. The other one… I’ll tell you more.
“I don’t know if he’ll even watch the game. Maybe he’ll be a bit busy. He has a dinner with a friend. I don’t know. He’s a guy with a very active social life, maybe I had one too at his age.”
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