On Sunday evening, Real Madrid saw themselves miss out on a second consecutive and third La Liga title in four seasons, as they lost 2-0 to Barcelona in El Clásico, allowing their arch-rivals to comfortably secure the title. 

It was another depressing night, summing up what has been a depressing season for everyone involved. La Liga is gone with three games remaining, another UEFA Champions League quarter-final exit, and a loss in the Supercopa de España final. 

The game against Barcelona saw Kylian Mbappé left out of the squad, reportedly after feeling something late in the final pre-game training session on Saturday. 

However, that may not have been the case. Indeed not, as Spanish media outlet Onda Cero is reporting that the Frenchman was informed he would be on the bench for El Clásico. 

Five minutes later, he said he was in discomfort and left the training session, leaving everyone surprised. 

Well, this marries up with the report that he said he felt something late on in the training session. It would be at the end of the session, when Alvaro Arbeloa announces the XI for the game. 

So, there is a fairly reasonable chance that this report is correct, and Mbappé decided he could not be bothered to turn up, having been named as a substitute rather than in the starting line-up. 

Well - if true - what can you even say to that. The 27-year-old's popularity amongst the fanbase was already at an all-time low, but it will have sunk even further now. To the point where you ask: Is it actually beyond repair at this point? Time will tell. 

You'd have thought he would appreciate being eased back into the team after an injury, considering the World Cup starts soon - in fact, it starts exactly one month from now. Would it not have been more risky to put him straight back into the team after missing a few games? 

Ah, well, it is what it is. There are still three games remaining, so it will be interesting to see whether he features in them. Vedat Muriqi scored for Mallorca on Sunday, meaning he is just two goals behind Mbappe in the Golden Boot race. Perhaps that will motivate him to do what he is paid to do and play games for Real Madrid. 

As an aside, Muriqi's 17 non-penalty goal tally is actually one higher than Mbappe's 16. Madness. So, is he even doing that well individually? That is often mentioned to negate the lack of team success since he joined in the summer of 2024.

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