KYLIAN MBAPPE HAS THE IDEAL CHANCE TO SILENCE HIS SPANISH CRITICS IN FRANCE'S WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL SHOWDOWN

More than anyone, Kylian Mbappe will be excited about France's World Cup semifinal matchup with Spain. After a turbulent season at the club level, the attacker has the potential to not only get revenge for the heartbreaking loss to La Roja at the same stage of Euro 2024 two years ago, but also to respond to his vocal detractors back in Madrid. Additionally, he enters the conflict in the form of his life.

Despite the flood of goals, Mbappe's Real Madrid career hasn't exactly gone as many had anticipated, and after two seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, he still hasn't won a major championship.

The 27-year-old has undoubtedly received more media attention than most since moving to the Spanish capital due to his superstar status, but by the end of 2025–2026, both his reputation in the media and with his team had drastically declined as Los Blancos' season collapsed due to his alleged off-field transgressions.

In-form Mbappe will be desperate to silence his detractors back in Madrid as he gets ready to face his home nation in the World Cup semifinals.

Strained relationship

From a distance, Mbappe's relationship with the Spanish media has grown more tense since he made a huge free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid in 2024.

Los Blancos' inability to win a significant prize since the Frenchman's arrival has entirely obscured his spectacular output of 86 goals in just 103 games for the team, a disaster that has increased pressure for its high-profile players. Since Mbappe hasn't been able to turn Madrid's fortunes around thus far, he is unavoidably one of those who has become a lightning rod for criticism. Because of the intense pressure, he is essentially unable to play quietly or run the danger of receiving negative coverage from the media.

Although the initial focus was on his slow integration, the animosity has increased with every bad outcome or elimination from a cup competition. Things became especially toxic at the end of the 2025–26 season when Real Madrid fell well behind fierce rivals Barcelona in the title race and were eliminated by Bayern Munich from the Champions League quarterfinals. Mbappe eventually scored more than 40 goals, but his individual accomplishments were insignificant given the team's poor record as a whole.

The fact that he was much less productive in the second half of the season—scoring just four goals between mid-February and the end of the season due to nagging injuries—did not assist his cause.

Pre-tournament drama

Mbappe found himself at the center of some significant off-field controversy as Real Madrid's season collapsed, and things reached a breaking point during the final stretch.

The Athletic claims that prior to the team's match against Real Betis in late April, the 27-year-old got into an unpleasant altercation with a member of the club's backroom staff. The altercation involved the 27-year-old hurling a barrage of insults at a coach who had called him offside during a practice match, which was a reflection of the toxic environment that pervaded the club at the time.

Mbappe then sustained a hamstring injury during the match against Betis, but instead of recuperating at Madrid's Valdebebas training base, he took some time off to travel to Sardinia with his girlfriend, well-known Spanish actor Ester Exposito. Around the time his team was playing Espanyol in La Liga, he was spotted on a yacht.

This choice was criticized both internally and externally. An internet petition titled "Mbappe out" went viral after Arbeloa defended his player; it received almost 12 million signatures in less than a day and finally surpassed 70 million. The striker excused himself from training with the potential replacements owing to "discomfort" and missed the Clasico when Real gave Barca the title since he was still considered unfit. In mid-May, he returned to the bench against Real Oviedo.

That, however, was something that Mbappe himself objected to. Unusually pausing to address the media after entering the game as a substitute, the forward asserted that he was "100 percent" and that he hadn't started because Arbeloa had informed him that he had been demoted to "fourth-choice striker." It was eventually revealed that Alonso's dismissal was the source of the Frenchman's displeasure.

Shortly after being inundated with inquiries on Mbappe's remarks, Arbeloa was compelled to deny those assertions, stating in his press conference: "He must have misunderstood me, at no point did I say he was the fourth-choice striker." A player shouldn't have started today if four days ago they weren't even fit enough to be on the bench for a game."

There was "growing disappointment" with Mbappe "from the dressing room to the board," according to an article published in The Athletic at the time. His camp released the following statement in reaction to the intense criticism: "A portion of the criticism is based on an over-interpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, and does not reflect the reality of Kylian's commitment and daily work for the team."

Welcome distraction

The World Cup has definitely been a good diversion for Mbappe after such a turbulent club season, and he has returned to concentrating on what he does best—scoring goals and winning games.

Away from the cacophonous clamor of Madrid, the attacker has been prolific in North America, netting eight goals thus far as he leads France to possible triumph. His three braces against Senegal, Iraq, and Sweden were followed by a penalty kick victory against Paraguay and an incredible opening goal against Morocco in the quarterfinals. He nevertheless contributed two assists against Norway in the group stage, the only game in which he hasn't scored.

With eight goals, Mbappe is tied with Lionel Messi at the top of an exciting Golden Boot battle. His tournament total of 20 goals, only one behind Messi's 21, puts him in a strong position to become the World Cup's solitary record goal scorer in 2026 or in subsequent editions.

'Very, very unfair'

There's no denying that Mbappe seems more at ease wearing the dark blue shirt of France than the blinding white of Real Madrid. Didier Deschamps is the unquestionable captain and talisman of Les Bleus despite the attacking wealth and elite quality at his disposal around the field.

In fact, following his challenging season finale, his teammates have jumped to his defense. Ousmane Dembele stated, "The criticism towards him is very, very unfair," on the eve of the World Cup. "Some people criticize Kylian a little too harshly. In addition to being a fantastic athlete, he is a wonderful person off the field.

"Some people overdo the criticism because he's Kylian Mbappe. They shouldn't keep going after him. Whether ​he ties his shoelaces or not, whether he pulls up his socks or not... it's too much. He's still a human ​being. With the France team, he's very good with us, he's a leader."

Defender Lucas Hernandez echoed that sentiment, saying: "Kylian is an extraordinary player. When you're Kylian Mbappe, everyone looks at everything you do, on the pitch and ​off the pitch. All ⁠the criticism there has been this season, he's going to silence it."

Dividing opinion

Some contend, however, that Mbappe's image in Spain is more complex than many may believe, with concerns about his leadership, ego, and off-field conduct weighed against his exceptional attacking contributions and decisiveness. He is undoubtedly more scrutinized than most due to his status as a global icon, and Spain's inconsistent handling of black athletes must also be taken into account.

"In Spain, we are famous for making stories out of the little that we see of players," prominent Spanish journalist Guillem Balague told the BBC in May. "The jury remains out with Mbappe. He seems a little bit too cold and too distant with the Madrid fans - I remember Raul telling me that one thing they appreciate is players running for the impossible ball. People love it.

"Of course, if Real were winning, it would be a different story. The question is, are they not winning because the managers haven't been able to get the best out of Mbappe, or because he is not adapting quick enough? He went through a period when he first arrived of complete humbleness, realising he was at Real Madrid, and he was doing what he was told under Carlo Ancelotti.

"Then after missing two penalties, against Liverpool and Athletic Club, he was feeling really down and thought 'I am going to do it my own way'. The goals started coming, and he was great numbers-wise for Ancelotti. But this season it simply hasn't worked, under Alonso or Arbeloa."

'If you don't win, you get criticized'

Mbappe is precisely where he wants to be, in brilliant form and among the tournament's top goal scorers, with a World Cup semi-final against his home country approaching. However, he is still ready for any new criticism that may be directed at him.Before the match against Spain, he stated, "Winning the World Cup is the only scenario where you can relax." "If you don't win while playing for France, you receive harsh criticism. We are a cohesive team working toward one goal: triumph.

"We are in the semi-finals, but the road is still long, and the most challenging matches lie ahead of us."

Mbappe is determined to silence his detractors at this World Cup, as Hernandez hinted before the competition started, and his performances thus far will have contributed to that goal.

His critics in Spain will have to apologize if he can eliminate the European champions in the semifinals and maintain this unstoppable form into the club season.