How Kylian Mbappe Has Overtaken Vinicius Jr. in Real Madrid Hierarchy After PSG Exit | OneFootball

When Kylian Mbappe moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid, one question that emerged was how he would handle going from the top player in his hometown to trying to fit in with other star players like Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham.

Mbappe struggled by his standards adjusting to his new club, teammates, and surroundings. However, the Frenchman has found his groove over the last couple of months.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old has overtaken the Brazilian as the go-to player to get Real Madrid of challenging fixtures with a brilliant performance, much as he did during his tenure at PSG.

Has Kylian Mbappe become Real Madrid’s offensive leader?

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In his column for AS, journalist Frédéric Hermel discussed Real Madrid’s hierarchy and noted that Mbappe has overtaken Vinicius as Los Blancos’s top player.

“Hierarchies change, and that’s normal in a football team,” Hermel wrote (h/t Le10Sport). “However, it’s quite surprising that in Madrid, such an important player as Vinicius Junior was so quickly replaced by another, both on the right and left.

“We saw it again on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu during the tough match against Leganés: Kylian Mbappe took the starting spot from the Brazilian forward. It’s understandable for an “older” player when a much younger one arrives, but Vinicius is two years younger than my compatriot, and in any case, both are at the perfect moment to play football at the highest level.”

Moreover, Hermel noted that the Brazilian’s poor season, by his standards, has contributed to Mbappe’s rise.

“What’s concerning isn’t that Mbappe has exploded in such a ‘beastly’ way (we were expecting that from such an exceptional player), but that the Brazilian’s decline has been so sudden,” Hermel added. “The fact that one is rising while the other is falling is troubling, especially since many of us thought the arrival of the Frenchman would be a boost for Vinicius Junior.

“We expected that the competition alongside him, along with the positive impact of having a top-tier player in the team, would help Vinicius improve. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened so far. But nothing is set in stone. With the crucial matches of the season approaching, Vinicius has the chance to reclaim his status as Madrid’s No. 1 leader.”

It will be interesting to see if Vinicius can overtake Mbappe as the top player with the Spanish in this final stretch of the 2024-25 season.