Real Madrid: Mbappe leads ‘core’ quartet of Los Blancos stars ‘questioning authority’ of Arbeloa | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe is leading a ‘core’ of dissatisfied Real Madrid stars looking to force Alvaro Arbeloa out of the club as they ‘do not believe he has the necessary authority’.

Xabi Alonso was dismissed last month having only taken charge in the summer, to be replaced by Arbeola, for whom things are already looking bleak.

He’s won four of his six games in charge of Real Madrid, but the embarrassing defeats to Albacete, which saw them dumped out of the Copa del Rey, and Benfica, which means they now have to play the Portuguese side again across two legs in a Champions League play-off to qualify for the last 16, has already put him under significant pressure.

Reports have been rife of players being unhappy with the decision to sack Alonso and replace him with Arbeloa, and now Spanish outlet Nacional claim Mbappe is leading a ‘core of players to question the authority of the coach’ – ‘they do not believe anything in him’.

Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Arda Güler join Mbappe – ‘who acts as a reference for the group’ – in believing Arbeloa ‘does not have the necessary authority to manage the dressing room’.

The report adds that while Mbappe ‘complies on the field’ and remains ‘dedicated to coring goals’, he ‘does not buy the coach’s speech or get involved in the construction of his leadership’.

Several high-profile managers have been linked with taking over from Arbeola at the end of the season, with reports suggesting Unai Emery is among the frontrunners, though the La Liga giants’ top target remains former Liverpool boss Klopp.

The German is currently thought to be perfectly content in his role of Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, and he’s said on multiple occasions that Liverpool may have been his last managerial job having left Anfield exhausted.

But that’s not stopping former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos – who won a whopping six Champions League titles sitting at the base of their midfield – from tapping up his compatriot in a bid to persuade him to take on the job at the Bernabeu.

German outlet Kicker claim Kroos is ‘acting as an intermediary to help Real Madrid’ and aid president Florentino Perez in getting their man.

‘First talks’ have taken place between Klopp and Kroos, during which the former Real Madrid midfielder ‘recommended the manager to not miss the opportunity to lead such an attractive project’.

It’s further claimed that Kroos ‘could become Klopp’s assistant to facilitate his adaptation to Madrid, due to the language barrier’.