Kylian Mbappe has had a mixed start to life in Madrid since his arrival from PSG.
He has scored goals - eight in La Liga and one in the Champions League - but has also had his struggles. The best player in the world joining the European Champions should have resulted in guaranteed success.
Instead, Real were thrashed 4-0 by rivals Barcelona last month and trail the Catalans by four points in the league. They've also lost three games out of five in the Champions League league phase. So what is going wrong for Mbappe? A fellow French World Cup winner has given his take.
Former Arsenal and France star explains where it has gone wrong for Mbappe at Real Madrid
Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes Mbappe is isolated in Madrid and nowhere near his peak performance.
Speaking to Gambling Zone Petit believes Mbappe is not at his best, with Jude Bellingham's body language towards him during the defeat at Liverpool a worrying sign.
"I think Kylian Mbappe is so lonely at Real Madrid," Petit said. "I saw Jude Bellingham ignoring him and it doesn’t even look like he has any help or any friends at the club.
"He’s been hammered by the press and doesn’t seem like he has friends in Paris or Spain and he’s also gone to a public enemy number one in France because of what happened in the last international break.
"He’s so far away from his level this season, too. I know he’s scored ten goals but it’s just stats and he doesn’t look like himself. I just say what I feel when I look at him and he looks miserable on and off the pitch.
"He was the king in France and could do whatever he wanted at PSG and with France and now it’s not the same anymore. He’s lonely and with top players, the biggest game is against yourself and you have to be able to solve your problems on the pitch.
"Against Liverpool, he was miserable and missed the penalty and I thought every step he took on the way to the spot-kick, he was crawling on the grass."
Mbappe missed a second penalty in three games against Athletic Bilbao as Real again lost ground in the La Liga title race.
Prior to this they did beat Getafe and Mbappe did score, but it was Jude Bellingham who took (and scored) Real's penalty that night.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti will be desperate to see Mbappe return to form, with a tough looking trip to Girona coming up and an away Champions League tie in Atalanta. Defeat there would seriously throw into doubt Real Madrid's chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.
In FourFourTwo's opinion, Mbappe needs time to adjust to his new surroundings in the Spanish capital. An attack of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Mbappe may seem perfect on paper, but all three have similar styles and this doesn't seem to suit the former PSG star.
With Bellingham also at his best when charging into space, Ancelotti may need to introduce a new forward to improve the balance in attack. And subsequently this could bring out the best in the French superstar.
‘Scoring in a World Cup is like winning the title – can you imagine millions of people celebrating something you did? It’s insane and made me very proud’: Brazil legend explains how much 2002 goal meant to him
'He already had the ability but didn’t use it because he was afraid to shoot – I said, "You’re a player who has to decide games – you have to take risks, mate"': Liverpool star was forced to become confident by team-mates
