Kylian Mbappe axes second manager after disappointing run

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe is in his best form of the season for Los Blancos, having had a tricky run to begin his career at the Santiago Bernabeu. However back in France, he has been forced into action following a poor run of form for Stade-Malherbe Caen.

Mbappe took over as majority shareholder last summer as part of a consortium, confirming his ownership of a club almost simultaneously as he left Paris Saint-Germain. Caen were Mbappe’s first club, but things have not exactly gone to plan for the 26-year-old since he took over.

Kylian Mbappé, owner of his former youth team SM Caen pic.twitter.com/jm92xxg1K6

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) July 31, 2024

Just two months after his arrival, the decision was taken to sack manager Nicolas Seube, a figure who Relevo explain was much-beloved by the Caen fans as a legend of the club, having captained them and become their record appearance-maker during his playing career. In his place came Bruno Baltazar, but his spell has lasted all of seven games.

The 47-year-old Portuguese manager, who had previous experience in Bulgaria, Cyprus and his native Portugal, failed to pick up a single point in his spell in charge, and managed just one goal during that time too. It has left Caen lugging around an 11-game winless run, and rooted them to the bottom of the Ligue 2 table.

Mbappe and Caen will be desperate to avoid relegation, and what would be their first entry into the third tier of French football in 41 years, long before the former was gone. Currently they sit 18th, and are now 11 points adrift of 15th spot Red Star and safety.

To replace Baltasar, former Nantes manager Michel der Zakarian has been come in to carry out a miracle rescue job. It is not yet clear how much involvement Mbappe has in the decision-making processes at Caen, but it’s certainly a long way from what he envisioned.