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The article was written by journalist Denis Iglesias in “Sport” newspaper.
An article by Spanish journalist Denis Iglesias in Spanish newspaper Sport caused widespread controversy after he described French star Kylian Mbappe as “a member of Real Madrid’s Trojan team”, a symbolic indication that his presence at Real has become more of a burden than an asset.
The article, which had a shocking headline, referred to what the writer saw as the “collective deception” that Real fans have experienced since Mbappe was officially unveiled on July 16, 2024, with his contract seemingly ushering in a new era of white supremacy.
But two years on, Iglesias believes Florentino Perez’s dream project has turned into an “empire of fire” and that Mbappe has become a symbol of a collective failure to strike a balance between stardom and belonging.
The author compared the current situation at the club to “Mbappé’s Vichy France”, a historical metaphor for a subordinate regime that has lost its legitimacy, given that the Frenchman lives in isolation within the team, far from the spirit of leadership he was expected to embody.
He added that Mbappé, despite his impressive goal numbers, has not managed to be the leader who unifies the dressing room or raise the level of his teammates.
Iglesias went further to suggest that Mbappe had become a “Trojan horse” at Real Madrid, in a striking analogy where he saw Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as the “Ulysses” who sent Mbappe to Madrid as a symbolic tool to control their historic rival in Europe.
He wrote that after years of European failure, Al-Khelaifi has become one of the most prominent leaders in world football, while Real Madrid is in internal chaos.
The article also touched on the club’s sporting crisis, noting that photos of Mbappé in Cagliari while recovering from injury angered fans, who saw it as a sign of “excessive luxury and detachment from reality”.
In this slump, the writer believes that the return of manager Jose Mourinho is an attempt to salvage what can be salvaged, describing him as “the De Gaulle of football” who is trying to restore discipline to a dressing room that has lost control, but he warned that the success of this move depends on removing the club from its previous programming. represents:
Iglesias concluded his article with another historical analogy, recalling the story of the Trojan horse, which the Trojans believed was a gift from the gods before the warriors who destroyed their city emerged from it.
In this context, he believes that Real Madrid is experiencing a similar predicament today, as the dream of Mbappe has turned into a nightmare that threatens to undermine the foundations of the royal project.
