Kylian Mbappe spent Sunday documenting his recovery on Instagram. He ran on a treadmill. He cycled. Over the frames he laid the lyrics “Who is very bad? The bad guy,” lifted from Michel Fugain’s “Les gentils, les mechants” with Big Bazar.
The France forward is working his way back from a hyperextension of his left knee, picked up on international duty. Real Madrid gave him permission to leave the Valdebebas training ground and continue rehab in Paris and Switzerland, according to Madrid Universal, setting him apart from team-mates working through their own programmes at the club complex.
The timing is what has set the Spanish capital talking.
Jose Mourinho was presented as Real Madrid head coach on 11 June 2026 after a turbulent 2025-26 that saw Xabi Alonso leave and Alvaro Arbeloa pass through the dugout. The Portuguese has used his first months in charge to spell out off-pitch rules, and in September he singled out cycling.
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“A player can’t ski in the mountains, he can’t ride a bicycle,” he said on the Bet It Drive Show podcast.
“If you fall off a bicycle, you might miss three games.”
Mbappe did not name the coach
The France forward made no reference to Mourinho in his post. Goal reported that there is “no confirmation that the post was intended as a message” to the manager, and the Spanish press has read the Fugain lyric in both directions. Mbappe’s camp can point to the club’s prior sign-off on his recovery location.
He has sat under this kind of spotlight before. Mbappe was photographed socialising in Paris in March while Real Madrid lost to Getafe during an earlier layoff, and in 2024 he missed a France call-up before pictures of him in Stockholm emerged, per Football Transfers.
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Barcelona six points clear
The first Clasico of the 2026-27 La Liga season is scheduled for Sunday 25 October at Camp Nou, kick-off 9pm local time, per the club. Real Madrid trail Barcelona by six points going into the fixture, with Mbappe’s availability unconfirmed and Villarreal at the Bernabeu on Saturday 10 October the first marker on his return calendar.
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