Kylian Mbappe will miss Sunday night’s El Clasico after the Real Madrid forward walked out of training on Saturday, citing discomfort in his hamstring. The Frenchman’s withdrawal leaves Vinicius Junior as the club’s leading attacking option for the trip to the Nou Camp, with Real’s squad list for the match containing four forwards but no Mbappe.
The 27-year-old stunned team-mates when he pulled up during the session, announced his issue and left the pitch. Marca reports that Real will have to do without their World Cup winner for the heavyweight clash. Mbappe has scored 41 goals in all competitions this season and opened the scoring when Real beat Barcelona 2-1 earlier in the campaign.
His absence comes amid intense scrutiny of his conduct. Supporters have criticised the forward for taking a yacht holiday with his new girlfriend while recovering from a previous hamstring injury, and a petition calling for the club to sell him has reportedly gathered 70 million signatures.
Real’s form has also dipped, with only five wins from their last ten La Liga matches, leaving Barcelona on the verge of another league title. The club’s preparations have been disrupted further by a dressing-room row between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, which left Valverde requiring hospital treatment for a head cut. Both players were fined €500,000.
Alvaro Arbeloa, who is set to leave in the summer, said: “Valverde and Tchouameni deserve for us to move on, to give them a chance to keep fighting for this club. I’m very proud of them. I won’t allow this to be used to question their professionalism.” The Real boss also criticised the leak of the incident, saying: “The most serious thing for me, what hurts me most, is that what happens in the Real Madrid dressing room should stay there. If things that happen in the dressing room are leaked, I think it’s a betrayal of Real Madrid and what this badge represents.”
