Real Madrid have advanced to the Semifinals after defeating Dortmund in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, where they will take on the Champions of Europe, PSG.
Los Blancos’ main man, Kylian Mbappe, hasn’t featured prominently yet in the tournament. But he did feature in Madrid’s 3-2 victory over Dortmund, and even scored the winner in the game with a deft finish, reminiscent of his 2nd goal in the World Cup final.
But that’s not what the whole world is talking about. Later on, Madrid’s striker posted a photo of his finish on Instagram. This post has come under immense scrutiny by football fans on social media. Fans have pointed out that Kylian Mbappe has used a photo editor or AI to increase the number of fans behind the goal to make the stadium look fuller than it was in reality.
Even to the naked eye, a closer look clearly shows the use of AI or poor photo editing skills; one of the two.
One X user wrote, “Mbappe in his goal post uses AI to put more people in the stands😭😭😭”. Another highlighted that the reason for this might be that it’s the Real Madrid fans who are not showing up to the Club World Cup games to support their team, stating, “Mbappe has to use AI fans cause Madrid supporters are glory hunters and can’t fill up a stadium😭”.
Low Turnout at the FIFA Club World Cup
At the start of the Club World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was sure that this tournament would be a major success for the hosts USA and would attract massive crowds. Infact, the CWC opener between Inter Miami and Al Ahly, according to him, was going to have a sold-out crowd.
3 weeks later, we know that this isn’t the case. If you have watched even a few matches at the tournament, you can easily spot many empty seats in the stands. Infact, the turnout was so low that in the end only 51% of the total seats were sold in the group stages and the Round of 16.
These numbers have seen a hike as the tournament has progressed, but that is only natural with the stakes getting bigger. But for the hardcore Ultras (fan groups) of the big clubs, this tournament doesn’t really matter despite the big money on offer. Hence the reason why one couldn’t spot the famed “Yellow Wall” or a sea of white in the Madrid v Dortmund game.
So, no wonder that Kylian Mbappe had to use alternate methods to show the stadium to gain maximum aura. Though one could say that he lost more Aura than he gained, thanks to the obvious use of AI in the image.
What’s next for Mbappe?
With Los Blancos taking on PSG on Wednesday, all eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe, who made his name at the French club before moving on to Madrid. This will be the first time he will be up against his old club since leaving them at the end of last season.
Without him, PSG went on to achieve incredible things under Luis Enrique this season, including a Quadruple and are in the hunt for another title. On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe’s debut season for Madrid hasn’t gone as planned, as the Spanish giants failed to win any silverware at the end of the season.
Thursday presents an opportunity for Mbappe to gain back the Aura that he has lost in more ways than one, and perhaps, this time around, he won’t need AI or a Photo Editor to fill up the MetLife stadium.
