Petition Breaks World Record as Mbappe's Madrid Honeymoon Turns Sour

The honeymoon is well and truly over at the Bernabéu. Kylian Mbappe finds himself at the centre of a perfect storm at Real Madrid, with Spanish journalists questioning his dedication to the cause whilst an extraordinary petition demanding his exit has obliterated the Guinness World Record.

The French striker's statistics alone tell a respectable story on paper—41 goals and six assists across 41 appearances this season—yet results tell a different tale entirely. Madrid crashed out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, whilst Barcelona stand on the verge of claiming back-to-back La Liga titles. A draw at Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday would seal it for the Catalan club.

Mbappe is nursing a hamstring injury sustained against Real Betis on 24 April, though he may yet feature in Sunday's crunch clash, albeit unlikely to start. The real controversy, however, stems from his decision to jet off to Italy with his partner during his recovery period—a move that predictably ruffled feathers amongst the fanbase.

The timing proved particularly galling for supporters who've watched their club fail to land either La Liga or European glory since the 24-year-old arrived as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. An online petition calling for his removal, initially targeting 200,000 signatures, has instead accumulated nearly 32 million—though not necessarily all from Madrid devotees.

Spanish radio station Cadena SER's journalists have been particularly scathing. Antonio Romero suggested Mbappe has been carefully managing his fitness with an eye on the 2026 World Cup finals, pointing to the forward's disappointing European Championship campaign where he broke his nose and faced domestic criticism.

"I can't wrap my head around the idea of a player like Kylian Mbappe missing a Clásico at such a crucial stage of the season," Romero declared on El Larguero. "Muscle strain isn't an injury that should make you miss an important match."

His colleague Julio Pulido piled on the pressure, warning that Mbappe's image—already taking a battering—faces further damage if he sits out the Barcelona fixture. Romero's damning assessment followed: "I think he has shown that his image, in terms of what the Real Madrid fans might think, matters very little to him."

Mbappe's representatives have attempted damage control, issuing a statement that framed the Italy trip as "a recovery period strictly supervised by the club" whilst insisting it doesn't reflect the reality of "Kylian's commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team."

Whether that proves sufficient to quell the gathering storm remains to be seen. What's certain is that the golden boy's Madrid adventure has taken a decidedly tarnished turn.