From Boston, US, Mbappe officially spoke out to calm the storm of public opinion surrounding Real Madrid's medical team in recent days. Ahead of a friendly match between France and Brazil on 27/3, the forward born in 1998 affirmed: "The information that Real's doctors mistakenly examined my knee is completely false".

Mbappe believes he bears some responsibility for the emergence of such rumors. "Perhaps I indirectly caused this situation because when you stay silent, you open the door to all sorts of fabrications, which is part of this game. With Real, we always have clear communication. I'm happy to feel well again and to continue immersing myself in football", he said.

Mbappe takes a shot during Real's 2-0 victory over Levante at home in the Bernabeu during La Liga's 20th round on 16/1/2026. Photo: AFP

The incident originated from the French forward's injury during a 0-2 loss to Celta Vigo at Santiago Bernabeu on 8/12 last year. Two days later, Real's medical department conducted an MRI scan. However, according to French television channel RMC Sport on 25/3, a report confirmed by its internal sources, Real's doctors allegedly mistakenly viewed images of his right knee – which was completely healthy – instead of his problematic left knee.

The conclusion of "nothing abnormal" at the time led Mbappe to endure persistent pain, forcing him to miss the match against Man City three days later in the Champions League group stage.

However, between 15 and 21/12, Mbappe played through the pain for the entirety of three matches, trusting Real's initial diagnosis. At that time, Spanish newspaper Marca also observed Mbappe playing somewhat cautiously, which was further confirmed by technical data from the club obtained by the source. The pain from an injury he believed didn't exist did not subside.

Despite health risks, it was during this period that Mbappe equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 59 goals in a calendar year for Real, scoring against Deportivo Alaves, Talavera, and Sevilla.

After the Christmas break, Mbappe returned to training on 30/12 at the club's Valdebebas training center but was unable to complete the session with his teammates. A second MRI scan was conducted immediately afterward, and this time – according to RMC Sport, doctors looked at "the correct leg".

On 31/12, Real's official website announced that the 27-year-old superstar had a "left knee sprain". In reality, he had a minor tear of the posterior cruciate ligament, an injury requiring at least three weeks to recover. At this point, Real was preparing for the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, and Mbappe was still on the squad list. He only flew to Jeddah to play the final 15 minutes of the final against Barca. Immediately after the 2-3 defeat to their arch-rivals, Real President Florentino Perez made the decision to dismiss coach Xabi Alonso.

Under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, Mbappe's health condition had not improved. After a series of ineffective performances and missing the Champions League play-off second leg against Benfica on 26/2, Mbappe was allowed to return to France to seek another professional opinion.

He traveled to Lyon with the club's head of medical services, Niko Mihic, to meet Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, one of the world's leading ligament surgeons. According to French newspaper L’Equipe, from that point, Mbappe decided not to involve Real's medical team directly in his recovery process.

"He went to see one of the top knee specialists in France", RMC Sport reporter Daniel Riolo affirmed on 25/3. "Meanwhile, we know that a wrong diagnosis was made in Madrid. This clearly made Mbappe unhappy, even furious. When he met the doctor in France, this doctor confirmed that Real's team had worked inefficiently".

To prove the error by Real's medical staff, RMC Sport cited information that the Bernabeu-based club had fired its medical team in 1/2026. Publicly, the reason given was a wave of player injuries, including Mbappe's. "But for a club like Real to fire its entire medical staff in 1/2026 is quite absurd", Riolo continued. "I can confirm that it was due to a poor diagnosis of Mbappe's knee, even worse than poor because it was a serious error. That's why they dismissed so many people, in addition to the team's prolonged injury crisis".

Riolo further emphasized: "For Real, what happened was truly shameful. I think Mbappe avoided the worst. This diagnostic error could have become much more serious because it took him a long time to know exactly what was wrong. During that time, he continued to be active, even playing several matches without knowing his true condition. He could have severely damaged his knee".

The new treatment process, led by the French medical team, began to show results. Following advice, Mbappe decided against surgery. Instead, he followed a "recovery and muscle strengthening" protocol to return without the persistent pain that had plagued him in late 2025.

"Mbappe has a 15-day experimental protocol for muscle strengthening", reporter Riolo highlighted. "The most dangerous aspect is that due to the wrong diagnosis, he could have suffered a complete rupture injury by not stopping activity immediately. After that error, he still played but always felt pain and felt slower. The fact that he had to seek another knee specialist proves that things were not right".

The forward, currently leading La Liga's goal-scoring chart with 23 goals, returned to play for a few minutes in the Champions League round of 1/8 second leg against Man City on 18/3, before playing 26 minutes against Atletico Madrid last weekend and joining the French national team for the first FIFA Days period of 2026.

However, France head coach Didier Deschamps remained cautious about his player's condition: "Mbappe can start, but it's unlikely he'll play the entire match. Our goal is to win, but we must not risk the player's health".

Ha Phuong compiled