January 25, 2026
In a move that sparked widespread controversy, between feelings of sympathy and astonishment, French star Kylian Mbappe presented a “gift” that many considered “painful” to his Real Madrid teammate, the Moroccan player Ibrahim Diaz, during the match that brought the royal team together with Villarreal in the Spanish League.
In the final moments of the match, Mbappé took over the task of executing a penalty kick, and fired it in the well-known “Panenka” method to ensure his team’s victory with a score of 2-0. After scoring the goal, Mbappe went towards Diaz and hugged him, repeating the words: “For you… for you.” He later explained to the newspaper “Marca” that this behavior was an intended message of support for his colleague, who had missed a similar penalty kick just one week before in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations against the Senegal national team, a defeat that led to the “Atlas Lions” losing the continental title.
Despite the good intentions that motivated Mbappe’s action, many observers saw this gift as “strange and unfortunate”, as it brought back memories of Diaz’s painful early failure, rather than helping him overcome this ordeal.
The “Panenka” method implemented by Mbappe was not the only sad reminder of Diaz that night, as the match also witnessed Villarreal honoring its Senegalese star Pape Gué, the scorer of the goal that sealed the victory in the final of the African Cup of Nations. Camera lenses captured Diaz applauding the Senegalese player in a sporting spirit during the honoring ceremony, before engaging in a friendly conversation with him during the match, overcoming the bitterness of losing the title.
