Benzema Urges Mbappe to Adapt to Central Striker Role at Real Madrid

Karim Benzema, a former forward for Real Madrid, has stated that Kylian Mbappe needs to adapt to playing as a central striker for the club. Benzema’s reasoning is that Mbappe will be unable to take the left-wing position from Vinicius Junior. Mbappe left Paris St-Germain in the summer, having become their record goalscorer with 256 goals in 308 appearances. The 25-year-old France international, who arrived at Real in July following the expiration of his Paris St-Germain contract, has registered eight goals in 14 matches for his new team. However, he has found the net only once in his last five outings. While Mbappe’s preferred role is on the left wing, manager Carlo Ancelotti has maintained Brazil international Vinicius in that spot, compelling Mbappe to operate through the middle. Speaking on the Spanish television program El Chiringuito, former France striker Benzema remarked, “The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn’t feel right, because that’s not his position.” He continued, “On the left, he’s got a guy who’s at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem, you can’t play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.” Benzema added, “Mbappe isn’t a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he’s under a lot of pressure, this isn’t Paris St-Germain.” Benzema holds the distinction of being Real Madrid’s second-highest goalscorer in history, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2022 during his tenure at the club, prior to his move to Saudi Arabian team Al-Ittihad last year. The 36-year-old, who secured five Champions League titles and four La Liga titles across 14 seasons at the Bernabeu, cautioned Mbappe with the statement: “if you go two or three games without a goal, you’re going to have a lot of problems”. Beyond his single goal in the last five matches, Mbappe was unable to make a significant impact when Real’s 42-game unbeaten streak in La Liga concluded with a decisive 4-0 home loss to rivals Barcelona. Last month, his team-mate Vinicius secured second place in the voting for the men’s Ballon d’Or, an award recognizing the year’s best footballer, finishing behind Manchester City midfielder Rodri. Offering counsel to Real’s current number nine, Benzema advised: “Don’t give up, because I don’t think he’s going to push Vinicius to move. He’s the best player in the world at the moment.” He further stated, “Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he’s a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while.”