Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham - Can anyone solve Real Madrid's 'massive conundrum'?

How to solve a problem like Real Madrid? The Spanish giants have been accustomed to huge success in recent years, but it's now two seasons since they last won La Liga or the UEFA Champions League.

Los Blancos currently sit 11 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, with their Catalan rivals set to claim the title for the second season running.

Madrid also lost the Supercopa final to Barcelona back in January, with that clash proving the final game in charge for beleaguered boss Xabi Alonso, who was removed from his post the next day.

In their following game three days later, they then suffered a humiliating exit from the Copa del Rey to Albacete, of the Spanish second division.

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And in the Champions League - 'their' competition, which they would ordinarily be competing in this week as the semi-finals get underway - Madrid fought hard but were ultimately knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, having also exited at that stage the previous season, to Arsenal.

Up close to witness all of this has been TNT Sports' Spanish football expert Phil Kitromilides, who sees "fundamental problems" to solve for the club - and not just on the pitch.

"It's another disastrous season for Real Madrid," Kitromilides said. "This team cannot go trophyless for one season, let alone two.

"Remember, this is a side that has sacked the manager after winning a league title. So imagine what happens when they don't win any trophies two seasons in a row.

Highlights: Bayern seal thrilling late victory over Madrid to reach semi-finals

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I think there are real, fundamental problems at Real Madrid. There is no sporting director, of course. There is the president Florentino Perez, who ultimately makes all the big decisions. And I think recently he has got some of the big decisions really wrong.

"He has been a massively successful president for Real Madrid and they have enjoyed tremendous success under his leadership. But recently, he's actually been getting things wrong.

"The Super League idea fell flat. Then the renovation of the stadium has been good, but they overlooked sound-proofing the stadium, which means they can't hold concerts there, which means they're losing a massive amount of revenue that they budgeted for. So that was a big mistake.

"Obviously, Xabi Alonso coming in looked like a good managerial hire, and that didn't last very long at all. So I think there are some fundamental issues there."

'Massive conundrum' around star trio

Chief among these issues on the playing side has been the incorporation of Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe joined the club to huge fanfare in the summer of 2024 following a years-long 'will he-won't he' transfer saga.

WATCH: Mbappe slots past Neuer to it 4-4 on aggregate in wild first half

Video credit: TNT Sports

But two fallow seasons have followed, and there have been subsequent questions over the balance of the side - as Kitromilides documents.

"I think one of the biggest surprises is that Real Madrid signed arguably the best player in the world, in Kylian Mbappe, when they were European champions," he said.

"The idea was that they were going to dominate Spanish and European football with this signing of Mbappe. And these two trophyless seasons have come with Mbappe in the team.

"There doesn't seem to be a way at the moment to get the best out of him and everyone else in the team. He has scored a lot of goals, Mbappe. You can't argue with his numbers; he's put up some really big numbers.

"But in terms of what he's brought to the team, and what the team have been able to do with him in it; there has been a suggestion that when he was out injured for a little stretch, that sort of coincided with the team playing perhaps a little bit better and getting some of their better results.

"Obviously, there's no suggestion that Kylian Mbappe shouldn't be in the team; he's their top goalscorer and possibly their best player. But there is still this problem that hasn't been resolved.

Watch: Why some managers succeed at Real Madrid - and why some fail

Video credit: TNT Sports

"Carlo Ancelotti couldn't do it. Xavi Alonso didn't necessarily manage to do it. Alvaro Arbeloa hasn't been able to do it.

"How do you play Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, those three in this team, and get the best out of them? We haven't seen it. We really haven't seen it so far.

"None of those three players, top, top players, world-class players, have been at their best when playing with the other two. So it's a massive conundrum and somebody is going to have to try and solve it."

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Watch and stream the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League semi-finals this week, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max

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