El Clasico: Kylian Mbappe not in Real Madrid squad to face Barcelona

French forward to miss the crucial fixture despite training with teammates on Friday following his recovery from injury.

Kylian Mbappe will miss Real Madrid’s crucial La Liga fixture against Barcelona despite training for El Clasico with his teammates before the trip to the Catalan capital.

The league’s leading goal scorer was left out of the Real Madrid squad named for Sunday night’s game at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, where the home team can be crowned Spanish champions with a win over their archrivals.

Images from Real Madrid’s home training session on Saturday, which showed Mbappe participating in drills, indicated that the French forward had recovered from a hamstring injury he suffered two weeks ago, but his name was a crucial absence from the 21-man squad named on social media.

Mbappe attended a team training session before the trip to Barcelona [Oscar Del Pozo/ AFP]

Brazilian star Vinicius Jr will lead the forward line for Los Blancos and will be supported by Brahim Diaz and Gonzalo Torres.

Meanwhile, Aurelien Tchouameni was listed among the midfielders despite a recent training ground clash with teammate Federico Valverde that cost both players a fine of 500,000 euros ($589,000) each.

Barcelona go into the match as favourites not only to win the match but also to retain the league title. The Catalan giants enjoy an 11-point lead over their opponents, and a draw would seal their 29th Spanish league win with three games to spare.

If Barcelona win their last four league games this season, starting with the battle against Alvaro Arbeloa’s fracturing Madrid, they will match the all-time league record of 100 points.

Mbappe, a doubt for El Clasico because of a hamstring injury, has been heavily criticised by fans after he went on holiday to Sardinia during his recovery process.

It prompted coach Arbeloa to indicate that he wanted more dedication from his players.

“We didn’t build Real Madrid with players who play in tuxedos, but with players who finish matches with shirts full of sweat and mud, through effort and sacrifice,” said Arbeloa after Madrid beat Espanyol without Mbappe, to delay Barca’s title celebrations.

Mbappe is expected to be fully fit for France’s World Cup 2026 campaign in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.

The French, who were defeated finalists at Qatar 2022, open their tournament against Senegal on June 16 before facing Iraq and Norway in the group stage.

Mbappe is also expected to be fit for the friendlies against the Ivory Coast and Northern Ireland on June 4 and 8, respectively.