Kylian Mbappé: Is Real Madrid overdependent on Kylian Mbappé?
The idea of a “Mbappé-dependence” at Real Madrid has dominated debates in recent weeks. The argument seems obvious at first glance: Mbappé scores far more than the rest of the squad, both in La Liga and in the Champions League.
After 14 matchdays in La Liga, Mbappé has 14 goals, ahead of Vinícius Jr. with 5, and Jude Bellingham with 3. In the Champions League, the gap looks even bigger: 9 goals in 5 games, including a four-goal explosion against Olympiakos — the only scorer in a 4–3 win.
With numbers like these, it’s easy to conclude Real Madrid is heavily reliant on its new superstar. But what happens when we look beyond goals?
The G/A Illusion
When we include assists, the story barely changes.
- Mbappé leads La Liga with 18 G/A (14G, 4A), ahead of Vinícius (9 G/A) and Arda Güler (8 G/A).
- In the Champions League, Mbappé sits at 9 G/A, while all other Camavinga and Vinícius comes both second with 2 G/A each.
Across all competitions, Mbappé reaches 27 G/A, which is 16 more than Vinícius. Again, a massive numerical gap. Again, the temptation to declare a “dependence.”
Except G/A is a terrible metric for decisiveness. It only tells you who finishes or who makes the last pass — not who actually crontribute and how much to the goal action.
Why gC Reveals a Completely Different Story
gC reallocates credit within each goal-action, attributing precise contributions to every player involved. It captures the hidden work: the pre-assist, line-breaking passes, space creation, off-ball runs, penalties generated… everything G/A misses.
And with that lens, the picture changes.
La Liga — Real Madrid’s Real Contributors
- Mbappé: 7.02 gC from 19 goal actions → 37% contribution per action
- Vinícius Jr.: 5.42 gC from 14 actions → ~39% per action
- Bellingham: 3.47 gC from 11 actions
Suddenly, the massive G/A gap shrinks dramatically. Mbappé’s 18 G/A are exactly double Vinícius’s 9 G/A. But when we examine true contributions, Mbappé is only 1.29 times more impactful — nowhere close to a factor of 2.
Vinícius even holds a higher gC per action than Mbappé (+2%), meaning that when he is involved, his influence is stronger.
Champions League — The Paradox Gets Even Bigger
In the Champions League:
- Mbappé: 2.84 gC on 9 actions → 31.5% contribution per action
- Vinícius: 1.70 gC on only 5 actions → 34% contribution
Mbappé scores far more, yes. But he is not the player who contributes the most to the construction of those goals. Vinícius remains a crucial upstream creator, even if he is not the finisher.
So… Is There a Real Mbappé-Dependence?
Based on goals and G/A? Absolutely. It looks obvious. But Based on gC? Not at all.
Dependency only exists when the team relies on a single player to make the decisive difference within goal actions. That is not the case here.
- Mbappé scores a lot.
- But Vinícius and others create a large part of the value that makes those goals possible.
Public debate keeps repeating that the other attackers of Real Madrid lack decisiveness — especially Vinícius, criticized for “not scoring enough.” But football is not about finishing. It is about beating the opponent to allow your team to score — regardless of who puts the ball in the net.
And for measuring true decisiveness, G/A hides too much. gC reveals what actually happens. So No, Real Madrid is not Mbappé-dependent. At least, not in the way most people think.