Real Madrid didn’t win a domestic trophy last season after the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, with two of the club’s other stars noticeably suffering a drop-off in form.
While Mbappe himself was La Liga’s top scorer with an impressive 31 goals, Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were unable to replicate the performances that had helped the club win the Champions League in two of the previous three seasons.
Rodrygo has recently been linked with an exit from the Bernabeu, and a potential move to Manchester City.
Real Madrid legend gives his view
Steve McManaman represented both Real Madrid and Manchester City during his career and thinks that Mbappe’s arrival may have slightly unbalanced what was previously a side that was sweeping all before them.
“Possibly, because after Kylian came in, they weren’t as good last year as they were the year before,” he told FourFourTwo.
“There were injuries though, they had a huge amount of injuries in defensive areas, so that had an effect, but Kylian’s superpower took away from Vini’s superpower.
“Vini had a disappointing season – Kylian’s numbers were excellent whereas Vini’s weren’t, and there is the talk that they both like to play from the left, cutting inside from there.
“It maybe unbalanced the team because when Rodrygo played, it didn’t work out, right from the first game. I was at the first game at Mallorca and it didn’t work and never seemed to click, so Xabi Alonso has got an interesting conundrum of what he has to do.
“Also everyone knows their work rate wasn’t good enough and Xabi has already come out and said that if you don’t work, you’re out of the team, so I presume we will see a significant improvement on a lot of the numbers that they did last year.”
McManaman won the Champions League twice during his days at the club, although Real Madrid then struggled in Europe at the height of the Galacticos era, when legends like David Beckham and Ronaldo joined existing superstars such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.
Asked if he felt that the team had similarly become unbalanced in that era, because of the challenge of accommodating so many attacking stars, McManaman thinks things were different back then.
“No, because when Zizou came in we won the Champions League,” he said. “I left the year that David Beckham came in and they did dip but I think it wasn’t necessarily because of those players, it was because Florentino Perez’s plan back then was very different to what it is now.
“I left, Fernando Morientes left, Claude Makelele left and I think that was the major reason, whereas the squad is stacked now full of first class internationals.
“They’ve brought in another four this summer, they’ve brought in Trent (Alexander-Arnold), Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono, who looks like a really gifted young player from River Plate.
“The squad is big, not many players have left, and it’s got superstars in it. Maybe the superstars just have to work together a bit more, and find a nice equilibrium where they can play and impress, because they've certainly got the players to be outstanding.
“They’ve also got Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba back from injury in defence – I think they’re favourites to win La Liga this season.”
McManaman also expects Rodrygo to remain at the club under new boss Xabi Alonso, despite the speculation over a possible departure for the Brazilian.
“I think he’ll stay, I’ll be surprised if Real Madrid let him go,” he said. “The fact that there are rumours, there must be something in there because you don’t just pick a name out like that and run with it for a few days.
“But I’d be surprised if he left Real Madrid, especially in Xabi’s first year, unless Rodrygo has had a meeting with Xabi and been told news that he didn’t want to hear. I’d be surprised if he left.”
Rashford's big chance
Real Madrid begin their La Liga campaign on Tuesday at home to Osasuna, while rivals Barcelona start their season at Mallorca tomorrow.
McManaman will again be leading La Liga’s commentary team this season – Premier Sports will continue to screen matches, with one game also available on Disney+ every Saturday evening this term.
With Disney+'s most basic plan available for just £4.99 a month, fans can watch a minimum of three games a month for that price.
This season’s Clasico promises to be a mouthwatering encounter for English fans, with Real Madrid duo Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham set to go head to head with Marcus Rashford, now at Barcelona on a season-long loan from Manchester United.
“Barcelona haven’t really strengthened at the back and they’ve let Inigo Marintez go, so they may be vulnerable at times,” McManaman said of their title chances.
“But Marcus has got a huge opportunity there. The last two years have been disappointing at Manchester United, as has been Manchester United’s form, and he’s suddenly been catapulted into one of the best teams in the world, certainly one of the most exciting, with an exceptional forward line. We’re talking about Ballon d’Or nominees.
“It’s a huge opportunity for him to right the wrongs of the last couple of years, to show people how wrong they were, and now he’s playing for an exceptionally gifted, forward-thinking Barcelona team who love to attack.
“I’m going to be at the game on Saturday against Mallorca and I hope he’s a big success.”
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