Emmanuel Petit has accused Kylian Mbappe of ‘filling the Real Madrid dressing room with selfishness’ in the wake of the Spanish giants’ Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder, working as a pundit for French broadcaster RMC, launched into a scathing attack on Mbappe after Real’s quarter-final defeat in Munich.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side lost 6-4 on aggregate after a thrilling second leg at the Allianz Arena, in which they conceded two late goals following a red card to Eduardo Camavinga.
It was their fourth disappointing result in four games since Mbappe returned to Real’s starting line-up earlier this month after a minor knee injury.
During his absence from the starting XI, Real beat Manchester City at home and away in the last 16, and rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
‘It’s not solely Mbappe’s fault,’ said Petit. ‘But his arrival filled the Real Madrid dressing room with selfishness. It’s a fiasco.’
Petit also highlighted how reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain have gone from strength to strength since Mbappe’s departure in 2024.
‘The timing really works against him,’ said Petit of his countryman. ‘Since PSG have been playing like a team, they have been phenomenal. They are all united, like the fingers of a hand.’
It is not the first time Petit has taken aim at Mbappe. He has previously accused him of being an attention-seeker, and said he was unworthy of captaining France after Les Bleus’ semi-final defeat by Spain at Euro 2024.
Petit did, however, concede that Camavinga’s sending off proved a more pivotal factor in Real’s loss to Bayern.
The 23-year-old received a second yellow card after putting in a challenge, then delaying the restart by fouling Harry Kane then walking off with the ball.
‘If anyone needs to be blamed, it’s Camavinga,’ he added. ‘His foul was catastrophic.
‘At that point in the game (the 86th minute), the red card was very harsh, but unfortunately the referee (Slavko Vincic) was simply applying the rules. Real always hide behind the referee’s performance.’
Real Madrid’s anguish at being knocked out of Europe turned to fury after the final whistle, with a number of players haranguing the referee Vincic after sending off Camavinga.
Vincic was pursued aggressively by a group of Real players as he marched towards the tunnel having blown the final whistle.
Arda Guler, who scored two brilliant goals on the night, was particularly incensed and had to be restrained by staff as he yelled in the Slovenian official’s face.
Vincic then decided enough was enough and gave the Turkish talent a red card.
Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr were also chief antagonists, with both seen leading the pursuit and lambasting Vincic.
The angry protests continued into the tunnel in chaotic scenes, with the beaten 15-time winners losing control of their emotions.
Beaten Real boss Alvaro Arbeloa accused the referee of ‘ruining the game’.
He told Spanish press: ‘Obviously, you can’t send off a player for something like that. The referee didn’t even know he had a card and he ruined a very exciting, very evenly matched tie, a real battle, and that’s how the game ended.
When asked how Camavinga was, he added: ‘Like everyone else.’
Arbeloa then added on TNT Sport: ‘I think with the red card, everything was over. It is really unbelievable that you send off a player for this action, it’s not possible in a match like that to be sent off for this.
‘We feel really, really upset, angry and disappointed and I think all of this is a little bit unfair.’
