Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said he could take a controlled risk with Kylian Mbappe’s fitness ahead of the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday against Barcelona, but would not be “kamikaze”.
French superstar Mbappe missed the semi-final victory over Atletico Madrid on Thursday but flew out to Saudi Arabia on Friday to join the squad before the Clasico in Jeddah.
Mbappe is recovering from a knee sprain he suffered at the end of December, which was expected to take three weeks to heal.
Asked if the forward, Madrid’s top goalscorer this season with 29 strikes across all competitions, could play with pain-killing injections, Alonso said Madrid would be careful.
“It’s a decision that we have to take between the staff, the players and the doctors,” Alonso told a news conference.
“We have to measure the risk, to know the moment we’re in, what we’re playing for, and then take the decisions we take. But we are not kamikaze when we take decisions. It’s a controlled risk.”
Alonso explained that Mbappe was feeling a lot better after missing last weekend’s win over Real Betis in La Liga and the derby clash against Atletico.
“He’s doing a lot better, he wouldn’t have been quite ready to face Atletico and we decided not to accelerate (his return),” said the coach.
“We had in mind that if we got to the final, according to how he felt, we could see about him coming here.
“When he trains today we’ll have all the information we need and see if he’s ready to start or to play a bit less.”
Winning the Super Cup would be Alonso’s first piece of silverware since joining Madrid last June and would ease the pressure on his shoulders.
The Spaniard appeared close to the sack towards the end of 2025 after a poor run of form, but Madrid have won their last five matches.
“Projects take time... we’re evolving in terms of football, emotionally, the team’s spirit,” said Alonso.
“We feel connected with the players. These types of matches could have a big impact on the rest of the season.”
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Mbappe is the man of the moment but backed his team to succeed despite his arrival in Saudi Arabia.
“At the moment Mbappe is the best striker... he’s scored many, many goals, and he’s a world-class player, that’s what I can say,” admitted Flick.
