Kylian Mbappé flew to Sardinia on a private jet, dined at upscale restaurants, and was photographed with a Spanish actress.
Real Madrid are eleven points behind Barcelona with four games left.
The timing was not lost on anyone.
The trip, which took place on 1 May, put the France striker in Cagliari just days before Los Blancos faced Espanyol — a match he missed — and ahead of Sunday’s El Clásico at the Camp Nou, for which his fitness remains uncertain.
Mbappé has been sidelined since pulling up with a hamstring injury during a draw with Real Betis on 24 April.
Private jets and restaurant photos
Italian media reported Mbappé arrived by private jet with actress Ester Expósito, best known for her role in the Netflix series Elite.
The pair were spotted at the Libarium restaurant and Lo Scoglio in Sant’Elia.
Sandro Manconi, the owner of one of the venues, shared images on social media. The pictures did the rest.
Expósito has not commented on the nature of the relationship.
The gossip column stuff is almost beside the point now.
‘Fuera’
A section of the Madrid fanbase reacted with genuine fury. An online petition calling for the club to cut ties with their record signing began circulating.
Images with the word Fuera — “Out” — stamped over Mbappé’s face spread quickly.
Some supporters alleged he was conserving himself for France’s World Cup campaign rather than Madrid’s collapsing title defence.
Mbappé’s entourage pushed back, describing the recovery as “strictly supervised by the club” and attributing the backlash to “over-interpretation” with no bearing on his “daily commitment and work for the team.”
Madrid had also granted rest days to other injured players, including Thibaut Courtois and Arda Güler, which his camp was quick to note.
Interim coach Álvaro Arbeloa took a more measured public line — up to a point.
He said it was “none of my business” what players did with their free time, then added that Real Madrid was built on “players who finish matches with shirts full of sweat and mud, through effort and sacrifice” rather than those who “play in tuxedos.” He did not name anyone.
The bigger problem
None of this lands in isolation. Mbappé has been scrutinised almost since the moment he arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, with reports of dressing room friction and questions about whether he has ever truly settled.
He leads the club’s scoring charts with 41 goals in 41 appearances — a number that would define most players’ seasons — and it still hasn’t been enough to quiet the noise.
He addressed the dynamic himself, in a quote that reads differently now:
“I’ve reached a point where you’re going to get criticised whatever you do, so you might as well do what you want.”
Club president Florentino Pérez is said to remain in his corner. That matters, for now.
Why it matters
The Sardinia episode is really a proxy argument about something larger:
what Madrid fans thought they were getting when they signed the best forward of his generation, and what they feel they have actually received.
A Barcelona win on Sunday would hand the title to their rivals.
If Mbappé plays and struggles, that conversation gets louder. If he doesn’t play at all, it doesn’t go away.
Sunday’s Clásico will tell a lot. Or it will just add another chapter.
