Steve McManaman on Mbappe and Vinicius: Kings of the Jungle
Steve McManaman believes Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior remain “kings of the jungle” on their own – but insists Real Madrid’s star duo still haven’t worked out how to win together, and that Jose Mourinho has been hired for one blunt reason: to crush Barcelona.
Speaking to GOAL on behalf of ESPN on Disney+, with Mourinho’s first La Liga game back in charge coming on Saturday away at Espanyol, the former Real Madrid midfielder did not hold back when asked about the pressure on Mbappe and his partnership with Vinicius.
“Off the scale,” he said of the scrutiny. Then he cut to the tactical heart of it: “It's strange sort of, it's not a criticism, it's just the pieces don't fit together at the moment of Madrid, that's all it is.”
On their own, McManaman sees no debate.
“Individually when they're suspended or one's injured or one's off the field, both of them [Mbappe and Vini Jr] are the kings of the jungle, they're the best players on the pitch, they're the ones who really stand out and look like incredible superstar players.”
The problem arrives when they share the stage.
“But when they're together, what has shown over the last couple of years is that they haven't won anything,” he pointed out. At Real Madrid, that carries a different weight. “If you follow Real Madrid, you follow La Liga, you know it’s either win or it's a disaster. When Barcelona are winning everything else and beating you in finals along the way, it is a disaster.”
McManaman highlighted how close Madrid have come without actually lifting trophies.
“They've come very close in Copa del Rey games, in the Super Cup, losing last-minute goals, missing chances but you have to get over the line,” he said. And with Barcelona strengthening, the margin for error shrinks. “When it's Barcelona who have also strengthened, that's when it starts to get precarious and you know the fans let it be known on a number of occasions last year about the team - even though they finished second and went down fighting to a Bayern Munich team in the Champions League and I thought the performance against them was good.”
So this is not a broken side in his eyes. Just one missing a spark.
“So they're not far away, but they just need a little bit of powder, a little bit of special magic and whether Jose brings that or whether the new signings bring it, we'll wait and see,” he said. He expects drama. “We all hope it's going to be a magnificent year and I think it will be and I think there'll be fireworks and I think it'll be great as well with Rodri signing for Barcelona - that just chucks another superstar into the mix.”
And then came the core of his argument. Mourinho has not returned for stability. He has returned for blood.
“But it doesn't matter, Jose's been brought in to finish Barcelona, to beat Barcelona and beat Barcelona again and again and again and that's all it is,” McManaman stated. “Anybody can go into Real Madrid today, you could go in and finish second, I could go in and finish second, what they've been doing and letting the superstars run the show, but Jose's been brought in for a reason.”
That reason rests on the faith of president Florentino Perez.
“Florentino [Perez] trusts him, he believes that he can get the best out of whoever it is, control the egos, whatever the dressing room says - I don't think it's as bad as it's being portrayed because there's always egos in that dressing room and they're all very professional,” McManaman said.
Then he stripped it back to the bare minimum of what Mourinho must do.
“But it's up to Jose to get over the line. Simple as that, no more no less, he just has to win.”
