Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday, 10 October, with Yan Diomande striking just after the hour. Mbappe started up front, rattled the post inside seven minutes, and faded. By full-time his own fans had delivered a verdict on social media that was anything but subtle.

“MBAPPE LEAVE MY CLUB RIGHT NOW TONIGHT,” read one of the posts collected in Sportskeeda’s reaction round-up, with other supporters labeling the display “shameful” and asking why Mourinho never drops the 27-year-old.

A yellow card for arguing with the referee did not help the mood.

Mourinho’s defense did not land

The pile-on had been forecast all week. Spanish reporters covering Real Madrid wrote openly that the Bernabéu would turn on Mbappe regardless of the result.

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Mourinho tried to shut it down the day before. In his pre-match news conference on Friday, the Portuguese coach dismantled the complaints over Mbappe’s international-break conduct: the knee specialist in France, a “discotheque” that he said was a Fashion Week private event, and a bike at a Swiss hotel.

“Are these criticisms over the top? They are ridiculous,” Mourinho said.

“I promise the Bernabeu that when a Real Madrid player doesn’t behave properly or doesn’t fulfil his obligations, then there won’t even be a chance to boo him, because he won’t even be on the bench, he’ll be at home. But Mbappe will play.”

Mbappe did play. He also did not score, and the fans reacted exactly as the Spanish press had predicted.

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Liverpool speculation hangs over every bad night

Every poor Mbappe performance now runs straight into the same transfer backdrop.

On 6 October, Spanish journalist François Gallardo claimed that Liverpool had made contact with Mbappe’s mother and representative, Fayza Lamari, and that the player had “made the decision to leave the club in the summer of 2027.” Gallardo put the potential fee between €200 million and €250 million.

The claim is thinly sourced. No other outlet has corroborated it, neither club has acknowledged contact, and Gallardo so far is the only reporter putting it on the record. Mbappe’s Real Madrid contract runs until 2029.

Club president Florentino Perez has publicly ruled out any sale. “Kylian Mbappé is one of the best players in the world and he will not leave,” Perez said in June.

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The French press piles on

L’Équipe columnist Ludovic Obraniak joined the criticism on Saturday, writing in the French daily that Mbappe’s recent conduct does not match what Real Madrid expect.

“Today, he is in a club that has high performance standards and it must be said that, for the moment, he is not up to it,” Obraniak said.

“The amount he is paid by Real Madrid, today they are not happy with what is produced.”

Mbappe’s next chance to answer the Bernabéu is at home to Sevilla on Sunday, 18 October, with the Clásico at Barcelona a week later.

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