Real Madrid received report on declining Mbappe physique before signing him

Real Madrid are currently trying to find out why one of the best strikers in the world seems so far removed from the first nine years of his professional career. Kylian Mbappe has still scored nine goals for Los Blancos this season, but only two in his last nine appearances, which date back to September.

One of the issues that has been picked up is the difficulty with which Mbappé has to beat players: the French forward is characterized by his ability to glide past defenders at lightning speed, allowing him to take advantage of so many shooting opportunities. While Mbappe has not looked slow, the fast pace that scares defenders has only been seen occasionally this season.

According to Relevo, this cannot come as a complete surprise for Los Blancos. They claim that before Real Madrid completed the signing of Mbappe, they received information that Mbappe was deteriorating physically. The data in the report shows that since the 2018 World Cup (when Mbappe was still a teenager), he has gone downhill year after year in areas such as distance covered, intensity of effort and sustained speed.

This in no way influenced their decision to sign him. Goals, assists and the star power Mbappe would bring to the club far outweighed any data on his physical performance, as is logical. It's something you'll see this season, with Mbappe covering the average distance per match of all Real Madrid players, at 8.9 kilometers per match. The likes of Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde are at the top end of the scale at 10.4km and 10.2km respectively, while Vinicius Junior averages 9.6km.