Real Madrid players and coaching staff were once again booed by the fans.
The incident took place during Real Madrid’s warm-up ahead of their match against Rayo Vallecano.
The Santiago Bernabéu has spoken once again. And it wasn't to offer applause. Two weeks after the visible frustration displayed against Levante, the legendary Madridista fortress exhibited its deep-seated unease on a night that, despite recent positive domestic results, was shrouded in a climate of tension long before the opening whistle.
While recent victories over Monaco and Villarreal helped lower the temperature temporarily, the bruising "slap" suffered in Lisbon against Benfica kept the fire of dissatisfaction burning. It only took a few minutes for the players to emerge for their pre-match warm-ups for the whistling to begin cascading down from the stands. It wasn't a unanimous or deafening explosion, but it was clear enough to send an unmistakable message: at Real Madrid, patience is not infinite.
The Mbappé Backfire
The goalkeepers were the first to face the crowd’s stoic disapproval, followed shortly by the rest of the squad. The stadium attempted to mask the noise with high-volume music, but the whistles remained persistent, setting a somber tone for the pre-match festivities.
One of the night's most striking scenes involved Kylian Mbappé. Aware of the cautious, icy atmosphere, the French superstar attempted to bridge the gap with the fans. Upon starting his warm-up, he turned to the stands and began to clap, a gesture seemingly intended to show leadership or reconnect with the "Madridistas."
However, the move achieved the exact opposite effect. Just as the whistling seemed to be fading, it surged back with renewed force, specifically targeting Mbappé. The reading was clear: the Bernabéu was in no mood for symbolic gestures; it wanted results and intensity.
Selective Disapproval: The Lineup Announcement
As the players retreated to the dressing room, the murmurs morphed back into organized protests. The most delicate moment of the night arrived with the announcement of the starting lineups. The crowd’s rejection became surgical:
- The "Targets": Federico Valverde, Dean Huijsen, Jude Bellingham, and Vinícius Jr. were the names that provoked the most visceral reactions from the stands.
- Mild Friction: Players like Camavinga and the young Mastantuono also faced scattered whistles, though they were notably lighter than those directed at the core stars.
- The Exception: The rest of the squad passed through the announcement relatively unscathed, though far from being cheered.
An Artificial Interlude
The Real Madrid anthem, blasted at maximum volume through the stadium's speakers, served as an artificial parenthesis. For those few minutes, the music drowned out the reality of the stands, making it impossible to gauge the true feeling of the fans. But as the final chords faded, the stadium returned to its raw state. The whistles returned with a vengeance just seconds before the ball began to roll.
The Bernabéu had made its state of mind clear. This wasn't an isolated protest or a passing fit of anger; it was a stern warning. The fans are demanding a return to the values that define the club, and as the players stood in the center circle, they knew the honeymoon era was officially over. The match hadn't even started, but the pressure was already at a boiling point.
