Former Player Adamant One Real Madrid Star Is Not to Blame for Club's Failures

Real Madrid head into the weekend's El Clasico knowing a win is crucial for their La Liga title chances. Sitting four points behind their rivals, anything less than three points means they will likely kiss goodbye to their final chance of a major trophy aside from the summer's FIFA Club World Cup.

If they fail to keep hold of their La Liga trophy, and despite Carlo Ancelotti looking like he will be leaving, plenty of questions will be asked about the team.

Most of the finger-pointing will be directed towards striker Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman was the only major signing who has affected the starting lineup, and the XI that won La Liga and the Champions League during the previous season. Former player Álvaro Benito defended Mbappe during a conversation on El Larguero (SER).

It's not Mbappé's responsibility if Real Madrid doesn't win anything this year. I'm absolutely clear about that. The point is that the team has to make the individuals better and vice versa. What we have to do is convince him of his work without the ball. Any team is better with Mbappé than without him.
Álvaro Benito

Further criticism has risen after his former team, PSG, reached the Champions League final. Many believe the Parisians have played much better since his departure. Benito could not answer whether they were playing better with or without Mbappe, but you can never know if things would be different if he were still playing in Paris.

Despite plenty of criticism, mainly from the media, Mbappe is close to breaking the scoring record in a debut season at Real Madrid. The Frenchman is one goal behind Ivan Zamorano's 37 goals and has four games to surpass the Chilean.

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