Xabi Alonso denied that Kylian Mbappé won the Champions League with Real Madrid this season, and he missed the championship that won the trophy so far.
Mbappé joined Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, and PSG then won last season's game for the first time in club history.
Meanwhile, Madrid was eliminated by Arsenal in the quarterfinals, totaling 5-1, although Mbappé's overall performance was good, scoring 44 goals in all competitions in 2024-25.
“He's not anxious,” Alonso said in a press conference ahead of his match against Marseille on Monday, when asked if Mbappé failed to lift the Champions League.
“We all think it's a project that's just started and one of Madrid's goals is winning the Champions League. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. But we're not talking about May yet.”
Xabi Alonso denied Kylian Mbappé was eager to win the Champions League this season. Diego Sarto/Getty Images
Madrid has already started Alonso's debut season, winning all four games in Laliga so far – Mbappé scored four goals after reaching the semi-finals at the club's World Cup in the summer.
“I’m optimistic [about Mbappe’s form],” Alonso said. “Kerian’s club World Cup is a bit 'light' because he has gastritis. We know each other. Now you see that he is a player. He knows football. We need him, we need the collective quality of the group. ”
Alonso said Mbappé was undoubtedly one of the team's leaders in his second season at the Bernabéu.
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“By his personality, his experience, the impact on others, he is one of them,” Alonso said. “When the group and strong, others know where they have to look.”
“Last year, Kylian scored a lot of goals,” added midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni. “And he's still doing that this season. But as a team, we're also improving. Kylian is at an incredible level and we know that with him we have more opportunities to win the game.”
Madrid faced a tough league stage in the Champions League, home match against Marseille on Tuesday, followed by long-distance Kairat Almaty to Kazakhstan before playing against Juventus and Liverpool.