McManaman on Mbappe and Vinicius: Talented but Unproven Together
Steve McManaman believes Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior remain “off the scale” as individual talents – but insists Real Madrid’s star duo still haven’t proved they can win together when it matters most.
Speaking to GOAL on behalf of ESPN on Disney+, with Jose Mourinho set for his first La Liga game back in charge when Real visit Espanyol on Saturday, the former Madrid midfielder painted a stark picture of the expectations at the Bernabeu.
“Kings of the jungle” – but not yet winners together
For McManaman, there is no questioning the quality of Mbappe and Vinicius. The problem, he says, is how the pieces fit.
“Off the scale,” he said of Mbappe’s level and the pressure around him. “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.”
Individually, he argued, both forwards are untouchable.
“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 issue comes 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 and 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.”
Barcelona’s surge and a restless Bernabeu
McManaman pointed to a series of near-misses that have defined Madrid’s recent seasons, particularly in domestic cup competitions.
“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 when it's Barcelona who have also strengthened, that's when it starts to get precarious.”
The fans have not stayed quiet.
“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 Madrid are not broken, in his eyes. Just short.
“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.”
The rivalry has been stoked further by Barcelona’s own transfer business, with McManaman highlighting the impact of another major arrival at Camp Nou.
“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.”
Mourinho’s mission: “Finish Barcelona”
Against that backdrop, Mourinho’s return is not, in McManaman’s view, about stability or transition. It is about one thing.
“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,” he said.
The standard is brutal. Second place is not a job well done at Madrid; it is something almost anyone could achieve.
“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, McManaman stressed, lies in president Florentino Perez’s faith in Mourinho’s ability to bend a dressing room of egos to his will.
“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, but it's up to Jose to get over the line.”
No grey area. No caveats.
“Simple as that, no more no less, he just has to win.”
