Kylian Mbappé was a major talking point during El Clásico, although he never set foot on the pitch. The French striker was left out of Real Madrid’s squad for the trip to Camp Nou following a week filled with controversy over his off-field decisions.
While his teammates endured embarrassing incidents—internal fights, aggression, and even a bizarre press conference from coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who admitted his biggest concern was that the dressing-room drama leaked to the media—Mbappé was focused elsewhere.
Mbappé, during a key training session that would determine his Clásico availability / Real Madrid
His eventual absence, officially due to muscle discomfort in his left leg, came as no surprise to many Madrid fans. They felt he had not done enough to be available for the match at the Barça stadium, where the Catalan side clinched the league title in an ideal setting. At least, he turned on the TV from home to watch the game—or so he showed on social media.
**Undav’s Nod in Germany**
Hours before Flick’s team delivered a festival performance at home against their eternal rivals, Germany was laughing at Mbappé with a celebration that quickly went viral. Stuttgart beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in matchday 33 of the Bundesliga. Deniz Undav, scorer of the third goal, recalled an online meme that dresses the French forward as a “Commander.”
“The boys call me Commander Deniz. Like in those Mbappé memes. Two weeks ago, we agreed that I would do that celebration sometime. Unfortunately, I hadn’t scored since then. So today, we made up for it,” Undav said after the match.
The celebration was no coincidence. The dressing room had been waiting for weeks for Undav to find the net again so they could pull off an inside joke born from Mbappé’s viral universe. The striker’s drought delayed the moment, but Sunday’s goal finally allowed them to settle the score. “Commander Deniz” could finally emerge.
So Mbappé ended up appearing indirectly, just before his team fell at Camp Nou in a defeat that has already entered Spanish football history—you don’t win a league title at home against your eternal rival every day.
The storm threatening to worsen Madrid’s crisis
Sisyphus, Márquez, and the mountain of Montmeló