Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the France national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his dribbling, speed, and finishing.Born in Paris and raised in nearby Bondy, Mbappé began his senior club career in 2015 with Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title in the 2016–17 season. In 2017, aged 18, Mbappé signed for Paris Saint-Germain on an eventual permanent transfer worth €180 million, making him the second-most-expensive player and most expensive teenage player of all time.With PSG, he has won five Ligue 1 titles and three Coupes de France, including a domestic quadruple in the 2019–20 season, while also leading the club to its first ever UEFA Champions League final in 2020. He is the club’s all-time top goalscorer and ranks third of all time in assists.At international level, Mbappé made his senior debut for France in 2017, at age of 18. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mbappé became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, as well as the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup final. He finished as the joint second-highest goalscorer as France won the tournament; he went on to win the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player and French Player of the Year awards for his performances. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final again; Mbappé won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball and set the record for most goals scored in World Cup finals by scoring a hat-trick.Mbappé finished in third place for the 2023 Ballon d’Or and was runner-up for the 2022 The Best FIFA Men’s Player award. He was named to the FIFA FIFPro World11 in 2018, 2019 and 2022, the UEFA Team of the Year in 2018 and the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season in 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22. He was awarded the Golden Boy in 2017, the Kopa Trophy in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2019 and 2023. Mbappé has been named Ligue 1 Player of the Year a record four times, and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for a joint-record five seasons; in the 2021–22 season, he became the first player to finish as both Ligue 1 top scorer and top assist provider. In 2023, he was among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, and was ranked third on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.The first time I coached him was when he was six years old. You could tell he was different. Kylian could do much more than the other children. His dribbling was already fantastic and he was much faster than the others. He was the best player I’ve ever seen in 15 years coaching here. In Paris, there are many talents but I’d never seen a talent like him. He was what we call a ‘crack’ (the best).On 20 February 2016, Mbappé scored his first goal for the club’s first team, a stoppage-time goal in a 3–1 league win over Troyes at the Stade Louis II; at the age of 17 years and 62 days, he became the youngest first-team goalscorer in Monaco’s history—once again displacing Henry in the process.However, the match was played in the backdrop of media reports that Mbappé wanted to leave PSG in the January transfer window, rumours which he denied, saying, “I’m very happy. I never asked for my departure in January.”On 23 January 2023, Mbappé became the first PSG player to score five goals in a match, including a ten-minute hat-trick, in a 7–0 rout of Pays de Cassel in the Coupe de France round of 32.On 13 June 2023, via an official statement released through Agence France-Presse, Mbappé announced his decision not to renew his contract with PSG, which was set to expire in June 2024; according to him, the club had been informed about his decision since 15 July 2022.On 17 May 2018, Mbappé was called up to the France squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[169] On 21 June 2018, he scored his first World Cup goal in Les Bleus’ 1–0 group stage win over Peru. This made him the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history, aged 19.In the Nations League semi-final on 7 October 2021, Mbappé assisted Benzema and later scored a goal himself from the penalty spot to help France come from behind and defeat Belgium 3–2. In the process, he made his 50th appearance for Les Bleus at 22 years and nine-and-a-half months.Mbappé is a practising Christian.[238] In a 2018 interview with Time, he spoke about the sacrifices he made as a teenager to focus on his football development: “I did not have the moments of so-called normal people during adolescence, like going out with friends, enjoying good times.” But despite missing out on a “normal” life, Mbappé states he is “living the life he always dreamed of”.A highly skillful player, Mbappé is known for his dribbling ability, as well as his explosive acceleration, agility, quick feet, first touch, link-up play and creativity when in possession of the ball, as demonstrated by his use of elaborate feints, such as step overs, or sudden changes of pace or direction to beat opponents in one-on-one situations.Eventually, Mbappé moved to the Clairefontaine academy, putting in a host of impressive performances leading to numerous French clubs, and Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, attempting to sign him. At the age of 11, Real Madrid invited him to train with their under-12s and visit the club’s facilities.At age 14, he travelled to London after an invite from Chelsea, playing a match for their youth team against Charlton Athletic.Mbappé finished in third place for the 2023 Ballon d’Or and was runner-up for the 2022 The Best FIFA Men’s Player award. He was named to the FIFA FIFPro World11 in 2018, 2019 and 2022, the UEFA Team of the Year in 2018 and the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season in 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22. He was awarded the Golden Boy in 2017, the Kopa Trophy in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2019 and 2023. Mbappé has been named Ligue 1 Player of the Year a record four times, and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for a joint-record five seasons; in the 2021–22 season, he became the first player to finish as both Ligue 1 top scorer and top assist provider. In 2023, he was among Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, and was ranked third on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.