Kylian Mbappe: Real Madrid star plays down rumours of Vinicius exit – ‘I always had the idea of playing with him’
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Updated 07/04/2025 at 17:17 GMT+1
Kylian Mbappe has denied rumours of tension with team-mate Vinicius Junior, saying he cannot imagine Real Madrid without him. The Blancos superstar has rediscovered his goalscoring form in a white shirt after a shaky start in La Liga. The World Cup-winning Frenchman also reminisces about meeting his "idol" Zinedine Zidane for the first time as a teenager.
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Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has dismissed rumours that he does not get along with Brazilian team-mate Vinicius Junior.
The World Cup-winning Frenchman joined the Spanish giants in June 2024, adding to an already star-studded line-up.
Mbappe's No. 9 on the back of the white Real Madrid shirt felt like the cherry on the cake for Carlo Ancelotti’s UEFA Champions League holders, who already boasted the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius and Rodrygo.
But the 26-year-old initially struggled to adapt to life in La Liga, registering some uncharacteristically poor performances for Los Blancos. At the same time, speculation fuelled that there was bad blood between him and Vinicius.
However, Mbappe has since rediscovered his form and is playing a key part in Real Madrid’s attempts to win back-to-back La Liga and Champions League titles.
He also wanted to put to bed the Vinicius rumours.
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"The relationship is very good," he said in an interview with Spanish television channel LaSexta.
"It’s normal that people want to talk about us because we’re two famous players who can make the difference, but I always came with the intention of playing with Vini.
"I can’t imagine Real Madrid without Vini and I always had the idea of playing with him.
"We play well. It can be better and people expect more from us and that’s normal, but I think we play well together."
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Madrid face Arsenal this week in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, having knocked out rivals Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
Vinicius has already twice tasted Champions League glory, but it is a trophy Mbappe is yet to lift after multiple failed attempts while at Paris Saint-Germain.
In a question now commonly posed to the top players, he confirmed that winning the coveted European competition would mean more to him than a Ballon d’Or.
"I have always said that playing for Real Madrid was the most important thing in my career," he admitted.
"Winning a Champions League [title] with the best club in the world, there is nothing more important. And with the Champions League, there are things that you also win."
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The allure of playing for Madrid has been present in Mbappe’s life from a young age.
As a teenager, he had the chance to spend a week at the club’s training ground in Valdebebas, where he met one of his idols, Zinedine Zidane.
"[I] could not speak Spanish or English and could only talk to Zidane," he said.
"I was here for a week and it was an incredible moment. I remember that when I returned to France with my friends, I had Real Madrid’s clothes.
"I knew [I] was going to come back here, not so fast, but it went well."
He also acknowledged another one of his footballing heroes: "I started with Zidane. As a Frenchman, he is an idol for us.
"I started as a fan of Zizou when he signed for Real Madrid, he played with Madrid with the Galacticos. Also, the arrival of Cristiano [Ronaldo], my other idol.
"And it is the best club in the world, this club has an aura that others do not have. I have followed all the club’s games, when I was a child and also now as a professional.
"I had this dream, which was then a goal and now it is a reality."
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