For the next season starting from 2024-25, Real Madrid has dumped Rodriguez and made the French sage Kylian Mbappe into the organization’s penalty specialist. This change has been made after getting replaced by a new free-kick taker, Toni Kroos who was well noted to be very efficient in such circumstances.
However, Mbappe who has almost everything going for him as a striker has not scored any goal through direct free-kick both for his club teams and the french national team. The French forward has played for AS Monaco for three seasons and Paris Saint-Germain for three seasons and in the 246 matches, he has scored 192 goals, although none of them have come from direct free-kicks. His record includes nine attempts with an expected goal (xG) value of just 0 goals which can be said to be very poor. 58. This decision has been eyed because other players on the team have been more proficient in this area.
Alternatives for Free-Kick Duties
Real Madrid has several other players who could potentially take over free-kick responsibilities:Real Madrid has several other players who could potentially take over free-kick responsibilities:
David Alaba: Schöpf has scored 6 direct free-kicks in his career so he would be a good bet for the role.
Arda Guler: As for the young talent of Turkish football, one can speak about the free-kick shot in the match of Euro 2024 quarter-finals Turkey – Netherlands. However, he is yet to bag for Real Madrid a free-kick; nevertheless, he has all the potential.
Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr. : A few of these players are also regarded as more than able to assume set pieces; penalty taker will remain Vinicius Jr. despite the arrival of Mbappe. It is also plausible to argue that decision on making Mbappe to become the central free-kicks taker is also informed by the fact of star status usually accorded to the marquee players. However, as seen from his age and past performance, Real Madrid may need to change this decision mid the season.