Will Mbappe start for Real Madrid vs Barcelona in El Clasico? Spanish media gives surprise verdict | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe has been making the headlines in recent days, and the Real Madrid striker could be in the news on Sunday when Alvaro Arbeloa’s side take on Barcelona at Spotify Camp Nou in El Clasico.

The Catalan giants, who won LaLiga last season, need to avoid a defeat to Madrid to become the champions of Spain for the second year in a row.

Real Madrid will head into (arguably?) the biggest football match in the world in turmoil.

Not only are Los Blancos staring at a second successive season without a trophy, but two of their top players – Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde – were involved in a training ground bust-up this week.

Kylian Mbappe has also been the subject of criticism from some Madrid fans.

An online petition, ‘Mbappe Out’ has been gathering momentum and has over 73million signatures now.

Although it must be noted that all of those who signed the petition are Madrid fans, it is still an unprecedented number and shattered the Guinness World Record a while ago.

Mbappe suffered a minor muscle strain against Real Betis on April 24 and did not play against Espanyol earlier this month.

During his rehabilitation, Mbappe went to Italy for a break with his partner, which some Madrid fans took offence to.

The striker’s representatives hit back and issued a statement on Tuesday, as quoted in The Guardian: “Part of the criticism is based on an over-interpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, ­without reflecting the reality of Kylian’s commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team.”

According to ESPN, the 27-year-old striker has been training this week ahead of El Clasico against Barcelona.

On May 9, Madrid’s official website noted about the team’s final training session at the Ciudad Real Madrid: ‘Mbappe participated in part of the session with the group.’

Kylian Mbappe in predicted Real Madrid XI vs Barcelona

Marca, one of Spain’s most prominent publications with close ties to the Real Madrid hierarchy, has predicted Mbappe to start against Barcelona in El Clasico.

In its probable line-up, the publication has noted: ‘In this way, the possible Real Madrid eleven would be formed by: Courtois; Trent, Rudiger, Huijsen, Fran García; Tchouameni, Thiago Pitarch; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius and Mbappe’.

Marca, though, has pointed out that it is still not clear if Mbappe is fully fit to start.

It observed: ‘The main question is Mbappe’s physical condition.

‘Although he already trains normally, he has been several weeks without competing and the last session before the match did not finish it with the rest of the group.

‘If he is not ready to start, Vinicius’ companion would be Gonzalo García, who added good minutes against Espanyol.’

Despite Madrid having a hugely disappointing season, Mbappe’s numbers are very impressive.

The former Paris Saint-Germain striker, who joined Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2024, has found the back of the net 41 times in 41 appearances for Los Blancos in the 2025/26 campaign.

Mbappe has also given six assists in those games.