Kylian Mbappe Special

0:09Hello and welcome to the rest is football La Liga with Alex Alger meet Gary Lineker. We're going to do a special episode today because there's no obviously La Liga going on. It's an international break. So we thought like we did a few weeks ago with Lamin Yamal, Well, we're going to do something similar with Kylian Mbappe and discuss his, well, his career really up to date. And it's still only just, what is he, only 26, coming up for 27 years old, I think. So, I mean, he's still relatively young in his prime, really, Alex. But what a career he's had so far. Yeah, 27 in December. Unbelievable career.

0:55at the beginning his father was his coach at AS Bondi I think his parents have been unbelievable bringing him up he's so grounded so humble I think before we move on to talk about him as a player a lot of people know how just how good a player he is but I was actually I was in Madrid during the international break I was chatting to a friend of mine who works at the club she's travel manager So books the hotels, sorts the best rooms, the flights. And she said, Kylian Mbappe is the one player who always thanks her, always comes up to talk to her. He appreciates it. She said he's one of the nicest, nicest players in that team, as well as being the superstar, one of the superstars in that team.

1:38She said, I play the second violin, but he treats me like the lead violinist, which I think is great. And I think people maybe don't know that about Kylian Mbappe Because one would assume that he had that superstar aura and wouldn't go and talk to the backroom staff, the people behind the scenes who are just as important. If they don't get a good night's sleep, if my friend has not booked the right hotel with the right room and the right temperature and they don't sleep, then, you know, they might lose the game. But I really liked hearing that story from my friend. That doesn't surprise me at all.

2:10I've only met him once and that was at the Ballon d 'Or a couple of years ago. He was very gracious. and I've heard from many people that do know him that that's the sort of person he is. And also he has real moral values. I've heard him speak out on a number of issues. We've heard him, haven't we, challenging the far right as he was at some point. And he's very outspoken, but he does it in a very classy, intelligent way. If you go back to his school, and apparently he was slightly unruly at school.

2:45exactly but he was also clearly an incredibly intelligent young man as well as a naturally gifted superb athlete he learned spanish when he was 15 he's clearly a very intelligent his parents too his climb to the top was pretty rapid wasn't it climbed to the top was pretty rapid but while staying grounded as you say i think we all remember that image of him it was back in 2012 with Cristiano Ronaldo. He was invited to train with the academy and he'd met all these superstars and apparently after that, off the back of that, he's on cloud nine coming back to Paris. You'll never believe who I've had a photo with.

3:22His mother made him clean the classrooms for the next three days at the school she taught at, just saying, right, back to reality, come back down to earth. But look where it's got him. Look where it's got him. And yeah, You mentioned his languages. He sounds fluent, doesn't he, in Spanish the day of his presentation. He spoke in perfect Spanish, but then lots of people said, well, it's because his whole career up until now, he's been working towards the move to Real Madrid. So, of course, he's been learning Spanish, similar to what happened with Trent as well, but still.

3:52Alan Shearer:He was 15, though. I mean, if he was planning to go to Real Madrid at 15, although apparently he was very much a Real Madrid fan. Yeah, he was a fanboy. Posters of Cristiano Ronaldo on his bedroom wall. It was covered. It was covered. There wasn't a free space on his wall, just Cristiano Ronaldo everywhere. But now, look, he's playing against him. And, well, hopefully, well, he'll hope that one day he can get to that level. And his numbers are incredible as well, aren't they? I mean, even you go back to the Monaco days and often when you first break through into first team football at the top level, then it takes time to to kind of particularly if you're a forward in scoring goals but he played 60 times he scored 27 goals and 15 assists that's you know that's 42 what do they call it now goal what's the word that they use in these days Alex goal involvements goal involvements that's the word they use thank you for bailing me out on that one it's a very it's a very it's a new term it is a relatively new term you'd have had plenty of them not so many involved not many men I scored but you can see that talent from very early age and he broke through I remember seeing him play at Monaco I can't remember which game it was but I was at BT covering the Champions League at that point I can't remember who they were playing against might have been Manchester City I'm pretty sure it was and you could see this young special talent and you thought hmm he's destined for bigger and better things.

5:28At that stage, though, we didn't realise how good he would be. Yeah, I think at that age as well, making your debut, first team football, 16 years old, you're a teenager, it can often go either way, but maybe you know at the time which way it's going to go, especially with a player like Kylian Mbappe. And it's all happening so fast at such a young age. I don't think you're even processing it at a time, which is why it's so important to have the right people around you. And he's spoken about the 2018 World Cup, scoring in the final, winning it. But he said it didn't even mean that much to him. He was saying, I'm not really aware of what I've won.

6:07There was an interview with him speaking about it because I think he was just too young to understand the magnitude of winning the World Cup at such a young age and scoring in a final. It's just unbelievable when you think about it. I mean, he was breathtaking. His pace and the whole world was going, who is this young man? And he broke onto the scene, didn't he? And he was not just a young player making his way in the French team. He was their star man in many ways. He really was. I mean, the pace was the thing. And not just the pace off the ball, but he has that turn of pace on the ball. That stop-start that I always thought was not unique to him.

6:47We've seen it from other players, but he almost did that as well as anyone I've ever seen. I think Ronaldo, Brazilian Ronaldo would do similar things in that sense. He always reminded me actually of El Phenomenal. Similar kind of stature, similar breathtaking turn of pace. And also that the clinical finishing and the way he could beat people. You know, people say, well, has he really become as great as someone like Messi? But you can't, you know, Messi's extraordinary and different sorts of players. But Mbappe in his own way. I mean, he's also scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Which he lost.

7:30Which he lost.

7:31Alan Shearer:He also scored a hat-trick in a Classico and he lost. I mean, there's only one player in history done that. Another record for him. Yeah, but it always seemed like there was an inevitability that he would go to Real Madrid at some point. And over the years, it sort of looked like happening. Then it didn't look like happening. And then it was going to happen. Then it didn't happen. But there was an inevitability. Shall we talk about Real Madrid after we take a little break?

8:05Welcome back to the rest is Football La Liga special edition on Kylian Mbappé you have many years many brilliant years at PSG Alex yeah many brilliant years at PSG and he's spoken recently saying I can't believe my luck that I got to play with with Messi I always dreamed of one day playing at Real Madrid I thought I'd be playing against him but ended up playing with him and the amount that I learnt from him playing alongside him. And he's so grateful to Lionel Messi for everything. And obviously, you know, back to the city where he was born, it made sense, didn't it, at the time, that move, even though Real Madrid were desperate to sign him back then.

8:46Alan Shearer:Yeah, I think so. I mean, he did reasonably well. He scored 256 goals in 308 games and 110 assists. and I mean people will say yeah but the French League the French League blah blah blah blah blah which I always find pretty ridiculous when you consider the talent that France has produced we do have a tendency to do that in this country sometimes Farmers League and all this nonsense obviously PSG are the current holders of the Champions League now the irony of that of course is that they did it without Mbappe and I wonder what what goes through his mind after all those years of trying and going reasonably close at times and then to miss out he goes to Real Madrid which is the club that generally wins the Champions League and PSG did it I suppose part of him as someone who had been in the club would have enjoyed it but internally I imagine as a sports person to have missed out on that would have hurt a bit Yeah, it's crazy to think that Kylian Mbappe hasn't won the Champions League isn't it?

9:53I think most people just would assume that he has. It will come. It will come, 100%. Well, that's why you signed Varel Madrid, isn't it? As you say, the club that wins Champions Leagues for fun, they probably have a good chance. Well, they've got a good chance every season, don't they? But now with Mbappe, with Vinny Jr., Bellingham, they've certainly got a very good chance of winning it this season. What a brilliant season that would be for Mbappe, his first Champions League. Because I'm sure you've won the World Cup, but it's the one that still surely the Champions League is the one trophy that every every player dreams of winning from a young age isn't it yeah I mean the World Cup will always take precedence because it's it's your country and it's every four years it's hard it doesn't happen very often and winning a World Cup gives you footballing immortality but in terms of club football obviously there's nothing bigger than the Champions League although as a possible Chelsea fan you might argue

10:47Alan Shearer:that the club World Cup but supersedes it. Champions of the world. It's a bit early to go on that one at the moment. Trump would agree. Yeah, well, of course he would. So anyway, he eventually does get his dream move to Real Madrid and he gets a bit of stick in that first season, which to be perfectly honest, Real Madrid going through a bit of a transitional phase. They're trying to find, Ancelotti's trying to find a system to suit both himself and Vinicius Junior, who both play a little bit on the left-hand side and they didn't quite come to terms with it. Elsewhere, they've got a few issues in the side as well.

11:30But despite all that, Mbappe himself did pretty well. Yeah, I think it's always going to be difficult when there's been so much speculation linking such a big player to a club that when they arrive at a club like Real Madrid, there's immediate pressure, a huge amount of pressure on them to perform, hit the ground running straight away. And the Madrid fans aren't overly patient. And he scored in the UEFA Super Cup final, which was obviously a great start for him, but then failed to score in his first three La Liga games. And there was a disaster, Classico, in October 2024, where he was caught offside.

12:08I think it was a record number of times in the La Liga match, eight times caught offside. So Madrid fans aren't overly happy after that one at 4-0 defeat as well. And then he said he hit rock bottom. Do you remember the penalty misses? Liverpool and Athletic Club. He said in Bilbao that time, I hit absolute rock bottom and I knew that I needed more at this club. I needed to show personality and I needed to show a better version of myself, I think he said at the time. And then from the turn of the year, things really improved for Kylian Mbappé. That start was tough for him. But I think that every player will have a dip at some point.

12:52Pretty much every player has a dip in form. Things don't go for you. You might be carrying a knock or something like that. But that is a test of personality, of character. And the greats have that. They can deal with things that don't go well. And he proved that. And it was interesting you talked about the amount of times he got offside in that game. And I remember that game because, and we also with Barcelona's super high line where they take a chance. And this was a stage where he was sometimes playing up front and sometimes playing on the left and they were changing. But then he started to become a centre forward, a nine.

13:30Alan Shearer:He changed his way of playing. And within that, and I was similar in the sense that I'd like to turn and beat the offside trap. And sometimes in games, I would be deliberately offside because you want the opposing defense to keep playing that way. He now gets it completely. He's learned to play the number nine role. And I'm slightly reticent about putting myself in the same category because I was nowhere near. I want to make that very clear. nowhere near as good but I do understand the role I do understand the role and still score the hat-trick in the World Cup so well but not in a final not in a final it was just a group game let's make that clear but I understand how that role is I understand the way you will as a centre forward if you're going to be brave enough to spin and spin and spin you will be caught offside quite a bit so I didn't mind that even at the time I thought that's part of it because you want players to play a high line against you.

14:34And it would be interesting to see the classic, I mean, he's done very well in Clásicos subsequently because of Barcelona's high line and because he's learned to break the offside trap. And we've seen that and I would think Barcelona need to be really careful this season when the Clásicos come about and obviously there's one coming in just a couple of weeks. So, I think they'll have to be cautious. Yeah, absolutely. I think he's been doing really well under Xabi Alonso as well. We all remember that video of Luis Enrique in that team talk telling him he needed to work harder off the ball. And that is exactly what we've seen him do under Xabi Alonso so far this season.

15:12He's sort of stepped up his all-round game completely, working a lot harder, doing more off the ball, which is exactly what he was criticised for last season. Vinicius Junior was criticised for doing the same thing. But you can see that Mbappe's really trying hard to do that, isn't he? His work off the ball. Absolutely. Even in his first season, which was deemed... 42 goals in all competitions. Exactly. A letdown. A failure.

15:40Alan Shearer:31 in 34 in the league. In La Liga. I mean, I mean, ultimately, it seems that you judge by trophies, which is, I'm not sure, overly fair. I think they say, we got this player in to win the league, to win the Champions League. We're not winning these trophies. So it's your fault. it's all your fault but it's not an individual game it's not an individual sport it's a team sport and he's a star within a team obviously well they have a few stars in their side but I think he's obviously going to be their talisman but overall I would say to do that in your first season he won their Pichichi which is what we would know as the golden boot for La Liga can you see any player beating him to that this season do you think?

16:23three ahead of Julian Alvarez already Julian Alvarez yeah And I don't think Lewandowski will play enough football nowadays, really, at his age to probably compete. I'd be very surprised, unless he gets injured, of course, which you always have to take into account. Yeah, well, he came back from France early, didn't he? He didn't play in their second game. But that's probably more precautionary, knowing what's ahead for Real Madrid. And of course, there's a World Cup coming up at the end of the season as well. It's hard to envisage a Real Madrid side not winning trophies. So I think that will happen at some point.

16:59They are up against a very, very talented young Barcelona team though who will push them. And I think we're going to get back to, you know, remember the Clasicos of a few years ago with the great Barcelona team and the Ramos and Ronaldo and all those players. I think we've got a different era of that coming along now. So, which is exciting for Spanish football, I would say. Yeah, it certainly is. I guess one concern is the fact that Vinicius Junior and Jude Belliam aren't scoring as many goals as they were last season with Kylian Mbappe in the team. It's just Xabi Alonso needs to find a way to get them to gel and click.

17:42Well, Jude hasn't played that much yet, has he? Because of the shoulder injury and the surgery. I think it was a little bit of a freakish, particularly start to the season for Jude. I mean, he will score goals, but it's hard, you know, from his position to continue to score almost a goal a game would be unlikely, I think. But he does have so many other attributes and he can run and he can tackle and he will supply, I think, a lot of assists for Kylian Mbappe this season. But I really admire the way that Mbappe has learnt to play the nine role and it's tougher. I mean, when you play, I wouldn't describe him as a winger, but on the left of a three, which was always the position that he most enjoyed.

18:29And I can understand that because you get the ball and you side on and then you can face up to the player. You can easy to beat people. We don't see him beating players quite so much now because when you play as a nine, you play a lot with your back to goal and you have to make turns and runs behind. And then we've seen quite a lot of one-on-ones with the keeper, which he invariably scored. he's one of those players that goes through and you think he won't miss he's one of those so hats off to him for learning a new role I was going to say he's not overly physical as well he's not he's slight he actually lost a lot of weight in the summer when he was ill yeah exactly but he said he didn't put it all back on so he's a few kilos less than he was last season but compare him to the likes of Erling Haaland size stature wise and there's a huge difference isn't there How would you compare him to Erling Haaland?

19:20I know that's the, everyone's talking about it. Haaland Mbappe, Haaland Mbappe. They're very different players though, aren't they? Totally different players. Haaland's a box player. Kylian can be a box player, but he's so much more. As footballers, clearly Mbappe's so much more gifted and so much more dangerous. And I don't want to be rude to Haaland, but I mean, he's very much a finisher and a goal scorer and a brilliant one as well. And he's incredibly quick and turns people. And I love him. He's top, top player. But Mbappe is that and a little bit more because he can face people up and beat them with incredible skill.

19:55And I think Erling would probably recognise that he can't really do that. In an interview the other day, Haaland was speaking with a reporter, wasn't he? And he said, do you not see all the work I do off the ball just because I didn't have touches? It's my movement. But so maybe it's something...

20:08Alan Shearer:Oh, his movement's fantastic. His movement is superb. Yeah, absolutely. Let's pick one. Before we go, one or two perhaps of the highlights of Kylian. His first La Liga goal, well, he got braced, didn't he, against Real Betis and had to wait till September, which was a bit of a surprise. First of September, I hasten to add. He showed his custom recomposure and finishing. You wouldn't think he'd gone three games, which seems ridiculous. Only three games in La Liga without a goal. Three is too many when you're playing for Real Madrid, Gary. Yeah, yeah. There was one against Alaves, September 2024.

20:45Some really good skill on this move from Mbappe and excellent link-up with Jude Bellingham as well. And then there was one against Celta, Vigo, a month later, long-range strike. Pretty good goal, that one. And then there was one really similar to the Celta goal in December against Sevilla, just as he was sort of getting his confidence back after those penalties he missed. His first hat-trick for Real Madrid also included a penalty, which demonstrated really his goal-screwing variety

21:13Alan Shearer:and his ability to lead the line. That was against Real Valladolid in January. And then, of course, to score a hat-trick in the Clasico without winning the game and losing. I mean, I don't know how you'd feel about that. I mean, I suppose it wasn't as bad as scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, like I mentioned before, and losing. I mean, two incredible achievements to do, but not win either game. I'm sure, I'm sure he'll experience times when he does score a hat-trick in the Clasico and win a game. You can imagine the answer after in the post-match interview, can't you? It's not about me.

21:51Talk us through the hat-trick. No, it's not about me. It's about the team and today we lost the Clasico so we can't be happy. We're not satisfied. And then a couple of free kick goals as well I want to mention. Liganes Barcelona. This was March and April this year. Not the best free kicks you'll ever see but I think this was when we started realising, yeah, he's becoming more of a leader in this team and stepping up. And then one final one I picked out was against Celta Vigo, a brilliant team goal and excellent finish. That was May, so the end of last season, I think, when he was really establishing himself.

22:25He's an unbelievably talented player. What's the ceiling for him? I mean, it's hard to imagine that he could get... Great question. Because he's, what, 27 in December? Prime. Yeah, prime time. and he said it himself recently when he was sort of compared to Ronaldo and saying, look, Ronaldo is still the god in Madrid. Everyone is still obsessed with Ronaldo. It's still Cristiano Ronaldo and I've got a long way to go before I can prove that I can get to that level because consistency is key, isn't it? It's all very well scoring that number of goals in your first season, your second season but Cristiano Ronaldo did it season after season after season after season for a decade.

23:02So I think Kylian Mbappe recognises that, isn't getting ahead of himself. And that's probably ultimately why he will end up getting to that level. I think he can get to Cristiano levels. I think that's doable because of his game. If he stays fit and if he stays driven and Real Madrid provide the ammunition that he needs. Obviously, Cristiano is playing a great Real Madrid side, but they generally are pretty great Real Madrid teams. So that looks likely to happen as well. I think hopefully, well, not hopefully because I'm a Barcelona man, but under Xabi Alonso. Slip of the tongue, Gary. Definitely a slip.

23:46But I think he can reach those sort of levels. You're right. And he's right himself by saying he's not there yet because you've got to do it year in, year out, year in. I don't think he can be a Messi because he doesn't have the vision that someone like Lionel Messi has to find a pass. And he's not the dribbler that Leo is, even though he's a very good dribbler and stop-start, a bit like Cristiano. I compare him a bit more like a Cristiano, like a Brazilian Ronaldo than someone like Messi or Maradona. But if he's not already one of the, I mean, the guy's achievements already are amazing. So I really, I love him as a footballer and I love him as a man.

24:32And I think he can go and he can have the most incredible career. And I think he will. Yeah. And I think the fact it's sort of, I was going to say it sounds trivial, but it's not trivial. The fact that he loves Madrid so much, he adores the city, adores the lifestyle. And so he's so settled, so happy there. which obviously then translates onto the pitch, doesn't it, as well? Very much so. You have a player that's not happy. And Cristiano was the same. He absolutely adored Madrid. And that was, people would probably say it was his home. So that will help things. And yeah, very exciting. And I'm looking forward to watching him this season and beyond.

25:07Yeah, what's not to love about living in Madrid, I suppose? Or Barcelona. Oh, I love it so much. I love it so much. I might go back one day, Gary.

25:16Alan Shearer:Okay. Well, let's leave it there. and we'll certainly be monitoring Kylian Mbappe's progress this season and beyond but for now that's it goodbye from me au revoir from me au revoir