We must help ‘extraordinary talent’ Mbappe adapt: Madrid’s Ancelotti

Real Madrid’s French forward Kylian Mbappe shakes hands with Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti after being substituted during their UEFA Super Cup match against Atalanta BC in Warsaw, on Aug. 14, 2024. (AFP)

• “Mbappe is an extraordinary talent, we have to help him adapt as quickly as possible,” Ancelotti told a news conference
• “He has started well in the dressing room, very focussed, with humility“

MADRID: With Kylian Mbappe set to make his La Liga debut for Real Madrid on Sunday against Real Mallorca, coach Carlo Ancelotti said the superstar needs to adapt to his new club.
The France captain scored on his long-awaited first Madrid appearance as Los Blancos beat Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old striker, who arrived at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, was not at his best but finished lethally after Fede Valverde sent the reigning Spanish and European champions ahead.
“Mbappe is an extraordinary talent, we have to help him adapt as quickly as possible,” Ancelotti told a news conference Saturday ahead of the team’s opening La Liga clash.
“He has started well in the dressing room, very focussed, with humility.”
Mbappe was asked if he was planning to score 50 goals this season after the Super Cup triumph and the forward said there was “no limit” to what he might achieve.
Ancelotti said he was avoiding setting a target for the former PSG hitman, whose arrival at his dream club Madrid was years in the making.
“I will never tell a player how many goals he has to score, what I ask of them is to give everything they have for the team, nothing more,” added the Italian coach.
“Everybody has their qualities, whether they are technical, tactical or motivational, and have to harness them for the team.”
Ancelotti suggested this season he would give players more time off for holidays during the campaign, with the expanded Club World Cup set to be played next summer.
“The players need to rest, they need holidays, we’re thinking about giving individual holidays to some players,” added Ancelotti.
“A player might not play for a week and go to rest with their family, above all with the internationals, who have very little rest... we’re looking at it with the medical and fitness teams.”