Cristiano Ronaldo has offered Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe some advice and expects Los Blancos to protect the French forward who he believes will bring joy to the Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed Kylian Mbappe needs to follow his example at Real Madrid and learn to be a real striker.
Mbappe joined the La Liga giants on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. The French superstar has scored 21 goals in 33 appearances in a promising start to life at the Bernabeu amid concerns over how he would fit into Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Mbappe’s tendency to drift wide was seen as a threat to Vinicius Junior’s form, while Jude Bellingham was moved deeper to accommodate the 26-year-old Frenchman. This saw Mbappe “step on” Vinicius’s position, with Bellingham having to be sacrificed for Mbappe. Former AS Monaco player Mbappe failed to score in his first three La Liga appearances but quickly found his form, scoring five goals in his next four games.
Ronaldo believes Mbappe could benefit from a similar journey to his when he joined Real Madrid from Manchester United. The Al Nassr star transformed into a complete striker during his time in the Spanish capital, Madrid, scoring an impressive 450 goals in 438 appearances for Real Madrid.
“The striker position makes things a little more complicated for Kylian Mbappe, because in my opinion he doesn’t know how to play as a striker… It’s not that he doesn’t know, it’s just that it’s not his position,” Ronaldo said about Mbappe not knowing his position in attack when sharing with La Sexta.
If I were at Real Madrid, I would teach Mbappe to play as a number 9. Because I am not a striker. Then I got used to playing as a striker. I used to play on the wing and people forget that. Kylian Mbappe should not be a typical striker. If I were him, I would play more or less like Cristiano Ronaldo plays as a striker.
39-year-old Portuguese striker Ronaldo has called on Real Madrid to protect Mbappe. Ronaldo believes the French striker will continue to bring joy to the Bernabeu fans.
“Take care of Kylian Mbappe,” Ronaldo said, “I’m telling the Real Madrid fans… Take care of the boy. Mbappe is very good and Real Madrid must help and protect him. I have no doubt that Mbappe will bring a lot of joy to the Real Madrid fans.”
Ronaldo added: “I really like Mbappe, not only because of the story he had when he was young, not only because Mbappe really likes Cristiano Ronaldo and not only because Ronaldo is Mbappe’s idol. But I really see Mbappe as a great player and he will bring a lot of joy to Real Madrid.”
