A storm is brewing in Madrid after Real’s two biggest stars, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, concealed the club’s message of Ceuta solidarity on pre-game t-shirts.
Far from putting on a united front on the issue, the pair, joined by Ibrahima Konate, deliberately rolled up their shirts to show their opposition to the club and league’s stance.
The t-shirts displayed a ‘We are all Caballas’ slogan in support of the Ceuta community following the migration crisis in the Spanish North African enclave.
Earlier this summer, a state of emergency was declared when Spain faced a serious border crisis, with 80,000 migrants, mostly young Moroccan men, arriving on July 30 and 31. At least 57 people died trying to make the journey and Morocco has disputed Spanish sovereignty of the territory since independence in 1956.
The Ceuta president has said 13,000 of those migrants remain and it is still a red-hot political issue, which Real Madrid and other clubs have now waded in on.
Prior to their 3-2 win over Elche on Tuesday night, the whole squad were given t-shirts for an initiative designed to show solidarity with the residents of Ceuta.
Vinicius Jr (left) and Kylian Mbappe (right) showed their opposition to the message of Ceuta solidarity displayed on Real Madrid’s t-shirts
Ibrahima Konate, Vinicius Jr and Mbappe were the only three players to roll up their shirts
In an embarrassing turn for Real, that message was then undermined by Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Konate in front of the watching world.
The trio wanted to clearly demonstrate their opposition to the sentiment, deliberately hiding the slogan, effectively saying ‘we do not agree with this stance.’
None of the players have come out publicly to explain their view on Ceuta but the pictures and footage from Tuesday evening speak volumes.
The rest of Jose Mourinho’s squad posed for customary photos and lined up as usual ahead of the LaLiga clash kitted out in their specially designed green and white t-shirts.
Footage showed Vinicius Jr with his shirt rolled up to cover the message, before Mbappe grimaced when putting his on.
He then saw what Vinicius Jr had done and repeated the move.
The initiative for clubs to promote a message of Ceuta solidarity was put forward by league organisers for this round of fixtures.
No other players in the nine other fixtures over the weekend chose to demonstrate their protest to the Ceuta solidarity message.
Pictured: People play football at a settlement in Benitez Beach, created after the mass crossing of migrants from Morocco, in Ceuta, Spain, September 13, 2026
The three Real stars who opted to defy the club have angered plenty of supporters.
One wrote: ‘I hope they boo them until the day they leave Real Madrid, utter disgust.’
Another posted: ‘I hope Florentino fines them with 3 months’ suspension without a job or pay. That way, the nonsense would end quickly. They’re way too full of themselves.’
While a third gave his damning verdict: ‘Shame that @realmadrid allows this contempt toward our compatriots from Ceuta by these millionaires who live in luxurious gated communities with private security.’
A Moroccan player for Real Betis in Seville, Ez Abde, also wore the t-shirt before his side’s game against Villarreal and received a barrage of abuse online from his countrymen.
The issue is a hugely sensitive one and Ceuta’s crisis has been front and centre of the political agenda in Spain since July.
Mbappe has not publicly spoken about his views on the migrant crisis in Ceuta
Spain is preparing accommodation for up to 10,000 migrants in Ceuta and the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has insisted the situation was not mishandled. ‘What happened is that we couldn’t cope with the influx,’ he said this week.
He added that authorities had taken in the migrants before returning the majority to Morocco, adding that nine in ten had gone back.
Sánchez said accommodation for 6,000 people would be available by the end of the week, with capacity eventually rising to 10,000.
He said the government hoped to have the situation under control by the end of the year and appealed for patience from residents of Ceuta, which has a population of around 84,000.
