Mbappe Says Madrid Frees Him Without Security — World Cup Goals Record
Kylian Mbappe said his move to Real Madrid has changed daily life enough that he can go out on the street without security, a sharp shift for a player in the world cup goals record conversation. The 27-year-old said he is happy in Madrid and is prepared to be famous; he says the trade-off is a life that feels less guarded than it did in France.
Mbappe in Madrid
“I’m prepared to be famous; I have to deal with that,” Mbappe said in a recent interview with Le Parisien. He added: “I’m very happy in Madrid; I can live more freely than in France. I can go out on the street without security. I can live my life and make plans that I didn’t make before. It’s good. I do very normal things, more than people think.”
That is the practical change at the center of his move. In France, the scale of attention around him was different. In Madrid, he says he can handle everyday routines with less protection and more room to plan his time outside football.
Mbappe and Real Madrid
The change comes after two difficult years at Real Madrid on the pitch. He won the European Golden Shoe in his first season and the Liga top scorer award twice, but he failed to secure any major trophies in his first two years at the club.
Real Madrid has also been part of a wider club picture for him. During his absence, Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League twice in a row, a backdrop that leaves his own Madrid spell under a different kind of pressure than the one he described off the field.
France, Senegal, and 2026
Mbappe also reopened the wound of France’s 2022 World Cup final loss to Argentina. He said it is very difficult to lose a World Cup final, called the defeat on penalties the cruellest way to lose, and said the result still leaves mental scars.
That pain sits alongside the next job in front of him: Mbappe is preparing to lead France in their 2026 World Cup opener against Senegal. For a player who says he is now more comfortable in public, the football burden remains the same — carrying France into another tournament after the disappointment of 2022.
