It feels like now whenever Kylian Mbappe scores a goal or puts up his usual outstanding performance, it spells the end of Vinicius Junior’s time at the Spanish giants.
Mbappe scores, Vini out, Mbappe scores, Vini is out. This has got us at MSport thinking, is it the case that Mbappe and Vini cannot be at Real Madrid together?
The Problem, According to the Doubters
Before we delve into that, let’s first try to examine the argument that is currently being made by those thinking it has to be one over the other.
When you listen to their narrative, their point is that Kylian Mbappe is at his very best playing on the left and that is where Vinicius currently plays for Real Madrid so, if Mbappe comes, the left wing will have to be there for him.
That could happen in one or two ways, one, either Vini is moved to another part of the pitch, where he will not be his best, or he is sold.
That is the entire point for these naysayers. Do they have a point? Let’s find out.
Mbappe Might be a Winger, but….
Kylian Mbappe is undoubtedly a winger anyhow you look at it, on paper and from his attributes. His pace, strength, and dribbling are all things that you would expect a winger to have.
However, interestingly none of those things are what Kylian Mbappe does best. Mbappe’s best attributes are his shooting and goal-scoring but let’s put that aside for now, we will come back to it later.
So we can all agree Kylian is a winger. Now what if I told you that Mbappe has scored more goals playing as a false 9 than he has scored as a winger? Yes, he has.
According to Transfermarkt.com, Kylian Mbappe has scored 160 goals from the 181 games he has played operating from the center of the pitch, at least a 100 goals more than he has scored playing from the left wing, 60 goals from 67 games.
I know what you’re thinking, and you will be right to think it. Yes, these numbers actually mean Kylian is converting more from the right because of the goal-per-game ratio, yes, but now take a moment to consider the gap in the volume of the goals he has scored from both sides.
How does Mbappe Compare to Other “Traditional Wingers”?
The other reason why we believe Kylian Mbappe’s winger credentials are not as set in stone as many would like to believe is how he compares with other more traditional wingers, and you will understand why we say ‘traditional’ in a minute.
According to the same website, Napoli’s Georgian left winger, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia has scored 24 goals and made 23 assists from the left wing in the 80 games he has played there.
Transfermarkt.com also reports that Leroy Sane for Bayern Munich has scored 18 goals and provided 18 assists from the 81 games he has played as a left-winger.
In addition to that, he has scored 21 goals and made 23 assists from 56 games playing as a right-winger for the German side.
Away from him, Rafael Leao of AC Milan has 43 goals and 40 assists from the 144 games he’s played from the left wing.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has scored 30 goals and 22 assists from the right wing while Raheem Sterling has 70 goals and 41 assists from the left wing in 183 games and 43 goals and 46 assists from the right wing from 103 games for Manchester City.
Notice anything common between all these wingers? The number of assists they have are either just a few numbers lower than the goals or equal and even for some, the assists are more than the goals.
Even Vini Jr, who Mbappe should supposedly replace at the left wing, has 60 goals and 62 assists from the 211 games he has played as a left winger for Real Madrid.
The reason for the phenomenon is simple and this is it, for these ' traditional wingers’, they relish the thrill of taking on defenders and creating chaos and opportunities for their strikers than they do scoring the goals.
Now let’s look at Mbappe's assists and goals shall we? From the left wing, Kylian has 16 assists to 60 goals for PSG, while from the centre forward, he has 70 assists to 160 goals.
Can you see the difference between Mbappe’s numbers and all these other wingers?
Kylian Mbappe is a born predator that feeds on goals and that is why when you play him as the centre forward, he will score them.
The Real Madrid Case with Mbappe and Vini Jr
When you think of Mbappe at Real Madrid, think of the Vin-Zema partnership between Vini Jr, who was the deadliest left winger in the world during that period, and Karim Benzema, who was the hottest striker in the world too.
Mbappe now is Cristiano Ronaldo in the early stages of his career, but with time and with Vini Jr, he will become CR7 at the latter part of his career, which frankly was when he was his deadliest and Vini Jr will be his Benzema providing the most assists.
You can check out this week's games on MSport here:
