His move to Real Madrid, and particularly his first La Liga game of the 2025/26 season under Xabi Alonso, marked another symbolic step. For the first time, Mbappe wore the number 10 shirt — a jersey loaded with history, expectation, and responsibility.

"I feel very good, but the most important thing is always to help the team. Offensively, defensively and everything else will happen, if I have the good spirit to help the team, we will win games," explained Mbappe after scoring his first goal of the season.

Xabi Alonso himself could sense a subtle change in his star forward: "I feel he wants more, you can see it on the day. I don't know if it's because of the 10, but you can see it."