Kylian Mbappe facing same ‘big star’ problem at Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo - with former team-mate of CR7 reacting to ‘arrogant’ criticism of French forward

Former Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has jumped to the defence of Mbappe, claiming that the French forward is being unfairly targeted by critics. Since his high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain to the Santiago Bernabeu, Mbappe has found himself under the microscope, with some suggesting that his departure from Paris has actually improved the Ligue 1 champions while he struggles.

Van der Vaart, however, insists that the tag of arrogant is wide of the mark. Speaking to Aceodds, the Dutchman said: "When people are talking about Mbappe being arrogant, it makes me a little bit upset, and people also talk now because PSG won two Champions League titles. Everybody is saying, yeah, you can see that he was the problem, and don’t get me wrong… PSG has many good players, but not a single absolute world star. He was the world's star at the club. What happens when you play with a player like him in your team is that the other good players hide a little bit. He is under pressure, and he got the blame when PSG didn't win."

The situation Mbappe finds himself in draws direct parallels to the era of Ronaldo at Madrid. Van der Vaart, who played alongside Ronaldo during his time in the Spanish capital, noted that having a "mega-star" in the squad often changes how teammates perform, sometimes to the detriment of the collective flow. He believes Mbappe is currently suffering from the same tactical gravity that once defined Ronaldo's tenure.

"You know, in a big club like Real Madrid, everyone gets criticised as crazy," Van der Vaart explained. "When Ronaldo played there and when he didn't win, he also always got the blame. But what I noticed when I played there, it is not good to only have one big star. Listen, I was a number ten, and when I had the ball, I might have had a better option, but if Ronaldo was on the left, me and everybody passed him the ball, which isn't good. It is difficult to have a big star in your team, but you have to manage that, because at the end of the day Ronaldo scored 60 goals per season, and Mbappe is doing the same."

Despite the criticism, Mbappe has remained a consistent goal threat for Los Blancos, yet the demanding Madridistas have not been fully satisfied with his overall impact on the pitch. Van der Vaart argued that the focus should be on the surrounding cast rather than the individual brilliance of the 2018 World Cup winner, suggesting that the rest of the squad has benefitted from Mbappe bearing the brunt of the pressure.

Reflecting on the past season, Van der Vaart added: "Now, he left, and they are sharing that pressure. It is much easier for them than it was being with him. He always scored many goals, just like he does at Real Madrid. He had the pressure of scoring the goals. The fans at Real Madrid keep criticising him, and I don't know why. He was – by far – their best player last season! The other Real Madrid players were not good enough last season. He was scoring all the time, but imagine if you were trying and being the best all the time; it would be tough. I always get so frustrated because it is so easy to say Mbappe is nothing and that is just not the truth."

Looking ahead to the international stage, Van der Vaart is confident that Mbappe will silence his doubters when he returns to duty with France. He tipped Les Bleus for further World Cup success and predicted that the Madrid forward would soon be adding more individual silverware to his cabinet, despite competition from high-flying strikers like Bayern Munich's Harry Kane.

"I am going (with) France to win the World Cup," Van der Vaart stated. "I really hope that Mbappe is going to be the best player of the tournament because of all this criticism and people saying that he's doing nothing and not working backwards, but I'm 100% sure he will be top. France are just so strong. They can put three teams together and then still have a chance to win the World Cup. I would say Mbappe for the Golden Boot, but I think that my friend Harry Kane could also win it. I don't know how he's doing it, but somehow he always scores crazy, crazy goals. So I will go for Harry Kane to win the Golden Boot and I will go for Mbappe to win the Golden Ball."