Real Madrid is anything but a club like any other. And if in its long and glorious history, it has brought players to the pantheon of world football, it has also destroyed careers, as the atmosphere reigning in the Spanish capital can be both fabulous and terrible. Among the players who experienced a little trauma under the colors of the White House, we find Michael Owen. Ballon d'Or 2001 with Liverpool, the young English striker was transferred to the Merengue in the summer of 2004. He would remain a season without ever succeeding in winning against Raul or Ronaldo, leaving the club in the summer of 2005 to join Newcastle.
“I was proud that such a club was interested in me”
And while Kylian Mbappé is going through chaotic first months, the Englishman spoke about this famous pressure in an interview with Guardian : “When I learned of Real Madrid's interest, I felt mixed emotions. I was proud that such a club was interested in me. I felt flattered, but at the same time uncertain. I spent almost a week tossing and turning in bed before making a decision. I spoke with Rafa Benítez and Rick Parry. It was a bit like: Let's agree, I'll stay for a year or two and then I'll come back. Subconsciously, that’s what I needed: tranquility. In reality, I didn't want to leave, Liverpool was my club. But I also wondered if I wouldn't end up regretting not having tried my luck“, first explains the Englishman, who then confides in the great difficulties and the crazy pressure.
“The pressure is so intense you can’t even breathe”
“Once I made the decision to go to Madrid, I lost control of my career. It was the end of others' perception of me as a player. It's true that it was the Saint Grail for a footballer, but it was also a place where the pressure is so great that you can't breathe. It wasn't what I had hoped for,” adds the striker, before continuing: “Real Madrid is a club with history, glamour, everything a footballer dreams of, but once you get there you realize it can be a place where you lose your essence. In my case, it cost me my professional career“, explains the one who ends by describing Madrid as a “place where the pressure is so intense that you can't even breathe“. It's up to Kylian Mbappé to take up this challenge.
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To summarize
Michael Owen, the former English striker for Real Madrid, spoke about the pressure that exists when you wear the White House jersey, which necessarily echoes the situation of Kylian Mbappé in Spain.
