Florentino Perez insists Kylian Mbappe is Real Madrid's 'best player' in staunch defence of under-fire striker

Despite Real finishing second to Barcelona in La Liga and exiting the Champions League at the quarter-final stage for the second year running, Perez has refused to point the finger at Mbappe. The French forward, who still has a chance to win the Liga Golden Boot and will almost certainly win the top scorer award in the Champions League, has faced intense scrutiny as the team fell short in both domestic and European competitions. Perez is also reported to be privately frustrated with the striker's behaviour during his recent injury layoff.

"I don't talk to the players about the coach. I only talk about them with their families. I don't speak to Mbappé. I greet them at training," Perez said in an extensive interview with La Sexta.

However, Perez remains firm in his belief that the former Paris Saint-Germain man is the leading light in the current squad. The president made his stance clear: "Mbappe is the best player of Madrid at this moment. There is something that we must improve, but I am not going to get involved in that. I think he has understood what Madrid is. He has scored many goals."

Reflecting on a disappointing 2025-26 campaign which saw Madrid eliminated by Albacete in the Copa del Rey and dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, Perez identified the main cause.

"The origin of this is in the Club World Cup. We have not been able to recover the physical aspect, we played every three days and we have not taken care of the physical side," Perez explained.

Perez also addressed talk of an irreparable rift in the Real squad after a week that saw Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni punished for an alleged fight in the dressing room. The club president expressed his concern over squad incidents leaking to the press before any internal action can be taken, adding: "We know about it, or we suspect it. To bring that up to tear Real Madrid apart... It should stay in the locker room."

Madrid will face Real Oviedo, Sevilla and Athletic Club in their final three games of the La Liga campaign under Alvaro Arbeloa, but it remains to be seen if Mbappe will return from injury in time to play a part.