TOPSHOT - Real Madrid's French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe gestures after scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League league phase day 8 football match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid CF at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on January 28, 2026. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty ImagesMatt WiltseSat, January 31, 2026 at 1:30 AM UTC·2 min readSpeaking on El Larguero (Cadena SER), Predrag Mijatović delivered a blunt assessment of Real Madrid’s current problems, focusing on mentality, leadership, and complacency.
On the performance, he said: “Benfica were far superior in every way. I had the feeling the team would play well, but once it started I quickly realized there was a better opponent — sharper, faster, more eager… After the match I was sad, but also quite worried, because the team didn’t give me good sensations. I saw nothing to hold onto despite the bad result; I didn’t see a team that knew what it was playing.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe warned that old habits have returned: “Last year the team didn’t win anything and fell into a dynamic of ‘we’ll fix it’, ‘it’s temporary’… That’s very dangerous in football. At Real Madrid, things do happen. You always have to give more and more.”
Mijatović believes the issue goes beyond coaching. “I said before that maybe it wasn’t a coaching problem. Arbeloa has come in, he knows the club, and again you see relaxation. The players need to wake up.”
He agreed with Mbappé’s self-criticism: “He’s absolutely right… so we have to wake up.”
The core issue, he says, is leadership. “More than missing players, we’re missing a leader.” He was clear: “Mbappé is not a leader… All of Mbappé’s goals don’t make him a leader.”
For Mijatovic, Madrid lack someone who can demand standards in difficult moments — the type of figure he compares to Ramos, Hierro, Modric or Benzema.
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