Mbappé's Bike Post Seen in Spain as Jab at Mourinho

An Instagram story from Kylian Mbappé has reignited controversy around the Real Madrid forward. On Sunday, the Frenchman filmed himself cycling in a rural setting, smiling, set to Michel Fugain’s song “Les gentils, les Méchants” — a seemingly innocuous post that triggered strong reactions in Spain.

The context explains the uproar. Ten days earlier, José Mourinho had made unequivocal comments on a podcast: “Unfortunately, a footballer cannot ride a bike. Even if he does it in secret. I don’t care about his contract, I look at how the player takes his work seriously. You fall, you can miss 3 matches, or worse, break a leg.” For the Spanish press, the timing is too glaring to be coincidental.

The post comes at an already tense moment for Mbappé. The international break had been marked by his early departure from the France squad due to a knee issue, followed by a Paris getaway that fueled criticism.

On Cadena SER, journalist Antonio Romero was scathing: “Mbappé accepts being Real Madrid’s star forward, but he also thinks he can do whatever he wants. Since no one at the club tells him anything, he feels he has more power. He will never be the leader of Real Madrid’s dressing room. He doesn’t have the personality for it, and he doesn’t want to be. Someone should tell him: this isn’t Mbappé FC here, it’s Real Madrid.”

On Cadena COPE, Juanma Castaño went further, suggesting a rift between Mbappé and Madrid’s management: “The club doesn’t see Vinicius and Mbappé the same way. Vinicius Jr is a club player, Mbappé is not the management’s preferred player. If the club has to choose and sell one, Vinicius will stay and Mbappé will be sold.”

Whether simple coincidence or deliberate provocation, the story has in any case revived doubts about Mbappé’s integration at Real Madrid, at a time when his first season in the white shirt is struggling to convince.