ChatGPT as a nutritionist? Former employee takes another swipe at Real Madrid following the "disgrace" surrounding Kylian Mbappé

In response to reports that Real Madrid had allegedly examined the wrong knee of the French superstar – which could have resulted in an even more serious injury – she wrote in her Instagram Story: "I don’t know what’s worse: this, or the fact that the distribution of supplements (to the players; editor’s note) comes from the free version of ChatGPT."

Gonzalez de Arriba had been relieved of her duties before the start of the season, much to her surprise, and subsequently accused those in charge, including Real president Florentino Perez, of manipulation, among other things. 

Her work had apparently been so successful that two players had even approached Perez directly to tell him about the improvements. However, this had led to serious tensions. “The fact that the players say this and link it to the changes in their diet and supplements has generated unbearable hostility from the medical department and the canteen staff,” she told the newspaper Marca in December. 

As a result, the medical department reportedly told the players to stop following Gonzalez de Arriba’s instructions. “Despite the pressure, many professionals tried to stick to their dietary plans – in some cases alongside medical advice. ‘I explained to them that this was wrong … It was terrible.’”

Even at that time, the timing of the statements was, in a sense, fitting. Several key players were suffering from injuries. Reportedly, it was mainly due to the Mbappé incident that a wave of dismissals took place in the Madrid medical team at the start of the year, before Dr Niko Mihic returned as head of the team following his dismissal at the end of 2023. 

As was leaked to the public on Tuesday, Mihic’s predecessors made a number of serious mistakes. The low point: according to The Athletic, an MRI scan was ultimately carried out on the wrong knee of Mbappé, who eventually took the initiative and consulted knee specialist Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet in Paris for a second opinion. In the meantime, he had even played in numerous matches – under the mistaken belief that his (misdiagnosed) injury would heal itself over time. 

RMC reporter Daniel Riolo used strong words on the programme "L'After Foot": "For Real, what happened is an absolute disgrace. (...) This misdiagnosis could have had far more serious consequences, as it took Mbappé a long time to find out what was wrong with him. He was active elsewhere, even playing in a few matches, without knowing exactly what was wrong with him. He could have ruined his knee.”

Following his meeting with Sonnery-Cottet, Mbappé embarked on a special muscle-building programme that relieved him of the pain he had been suffering for weeks. The striker now claims to be pain-free and has already returned to the pitch for the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Manchester City. 

"My knee is fine. It’s getting better. Things are going pretty well and I know there was a lot of speculation about it and false things were said," he said on Monday, adding meaningfully: "That’s the life of a top-level athlete. We’re used to people saying things without checking them and without any basis."