The Athletic quotes several members of former Real coaching staffs in a recent report. All favour letting one of the two superstars go. Only then, they say, can Real consistently compete for titles and restore calm to a club where players even went for each other's throats during last season's trophyless campaign.
"The problem will only be solved when either Vinicius or Mbappe leaves," said an unnamed former member of Real's coaching staff from recent years. Another former staff member added: "Either there is structural change, or they will not be able to improve."
They continued: "There is plenty of creative talent, but it is impossible to succeed in the long term when you defend with only eight players, and it is very difficult to organise the attack when the best players constantly speed up play and look for the same spaces."
Will Vinicius Junior and Mbappe be Real Madrid's downfall?
Both Mbappe and Vinicius tend to hold back defensively, preferring to position themselves for quick counter-attacks. That leaves Real defending with fewer players, a problem that proved costly in last season's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Off the pitch, however, the two ego-driven superstars are said to get along, despite claims to the contrary in the media. "They get on well, but they don't connect on the pitch," a source close to the club is quoted as saying. "It's not that they don't get along or hate each other!" Rather, the Brazilian and the Frenchman "compare themselves with each other in everything. And if one doesn't defend, the other doesn't either."
Xabi Alonso's failure was partly down to Vinicius's moods. When Alonso substituted him in last year's Clasico, Vinicius caused a scene, insulted the coach and flirted with leaving. Real's dressing room was also said to be deeply divided between Alonso supporters and opponents.
Real and Alonso parted ways dramatically after just over six months, but nothing changed under his successor, Alvaro Arbeloa. Towards the end of the season, a physical altercation between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouamenie made headlines after Valverde had to go to hospital with a traumatic brain injury.
Can Jose Mourinho rein in Vinicius and Mbappe?
After finishing without a trophy, Real responded in part by bringing Jose Mourinho back as coach. The Portuguese coaching icon was meant to get the stars' egos under control. Vinicius and Mbappe are causing a stir in Madrid under him too.
L'Equipe recently reported that Mbappe's behaviour since his injury in the first Nations League match has caused displeasure in Madrid. Inside the club, he is said to have given the impression that he puts his personal interests ahead of Real's goals. Winning the Ballon d'Or, for example, is said to matter more to him than the team's success.
"After more than two years, you get the impression that he still hasn't understood how Real and their environment work and how you have to behave there," an anonymous internal source is quoted by L'Equipe as saying. "He is being advised very badly, and in terms of image, that harms everyone, him as well as the club."
Getty ImagesMbappe snubs Jose Mourinho with bike ride
Mbappe sustained an overstretching of the posterior capsule of his left knee joint in France's 1-0 win over Turkey and had been in rehabilitation since. The France international then raised eyebrows with several actions.
First, someone photographed him visiting a club in Paris. He then openly defied a ban imposed by Mourinho.
"Unfortunately, a footballer cannot ride a bike. Not even if he does it behind the club's back. I don't care about his contract; I look at how seriously the player takes his work," Mourinho recently explained in a podcast. A fall could cause a player to miss several matches or even suffer a serious injury. "Maybe you only have a bruise, but that bruise stops you from being in top form," the Real coach added.
Mbappe then posted a photo on Instagram showing him on a bike ride in Switzerland.
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Getty ImagesVinicius Junior causes another scandal at Real Madrid
Last weekend, Vinicius again caused a stir with his behaviour. His goal to make it 2-0 against FC Villarreal was quite rightly disallowed. Instead, VAR spotted him pulling opponent Nathan Saliba by the hair and gaining an advantage, and the referee showed the Brazilian a straight red card for violent conduct.
Vinicius refused to accept the decision, insulting and confronting the referee, and is said to have pushed a LaLiga employee on his way down the tunnel. He is therefore likely to receive a league ban of at least two matches, meaning he will also miss the Clasico on 25 October through suspension.
Mourinho skipped the press conference after the Villarreal match and the Vinicius scandal to avoid risking a ban himself over anything he might say. "I want," he said in a message reported by the newspaper Mundo Deportivo, "to be there against Sevilla and Barca." Vinicius's absence made that all the more important.
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