Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign came to an end at the quarter-final stage after Bayern Munich eliminated the Spanish club 6-4 on aggregate, and the fallout has prompted sharp criticism from former France international Emmanuel Petit.
Petit, appearing as a pundit on French broadcaster RMC, directed his sharpest words at compatriot Kylian Mbappé, whom he accused of undermining the collective spirit at the Bernabéu. “It’s not solely Mbappe’s fault,” Petit said. “But his arrival filled the Real Madrid dressing room with selfishness. It’s a fiasco.”
The second leg at the Allianz Arena was a turbulent affair, with Real Madrid conceding two late goals after midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off. The result extended a troubling run of form for the club, marking the fourth consecutive poor performance since Mbappé returned to the starting line-up earlier this month following a minor knee injury.
Despite his broader criticism of Mbappé, Petit acknowledged that Camavinga’s dismissal played a decisive role in the outcome. “If anyone needs to be blamed, it’s Camavinga,” he said. “His foul was catastrophic. At that point in the game, the red card was very harsh, but unfortunately, the referee was simply applying the rules. Real always hide behind the referee’s performance.”
The refereeing was indeed a flashpoint after the final whistle, with a group of Real Madrid players aggressively confronting Slovenian official Vincic as he made his way toward the tunnel — a reaction that drew widespread attention and is likely to attract further scrutiny from UEFA.
Petit also drew a pointed contrast between Mbappé’s situation at Real Madrid and the trajectory of his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, since his departure in 2024. “The timing really works against him,” Petit said. “Since PSG have been playing like a team, they have been phenomenal. They are all united, like the fingers of a hand.”
PSG’s transformation into a cohesive unit following Mbappé’s exit has been widely noted across European football, and Petit’s remarks add to a growing narrative around the forward’s influence — or lack thereof — on team dynamics.
This is not the first time Petit has levelled criticism at the 2018 World Cup winner. The former midfielder previously labelled Mbappé an “attention-seeker” and, in the wake of France’s Euro 2024 semi-final defeat to Spain, declared that the player was “unworthy of captaining France.”
Real Madrid, currently managed by Alvaro Arbeloa, must now shift focus entirely to domestic competition. The club’s elimination from Europe’s premier club tournament will intensify debate around the squad’s cohesion and Mbappé’s role within it, particularly given the timing of his return from injury coinciding with a dip in collective performances.
