Childhood & Early Life
Kylian Mbappé Lottin was born on December 20, 1998, in Bondy, Paris, France, to Wilfried Mbappé and Fayza Lamari. He is of mixed ethnicity as his father is of Cameroonian origin, while his mother, a former handball player, is of Algerian origin.
Coached by Antonio Riccardi and his father Wilfried, Mbappé started playing football at ‘AS Bondy’ when he was six years old. He then moved to the national football center ‘Clairefontaine’ which specializes in training young French players.
Mbappé’s impressive performance at ‘Clairefontaine’ caught the attention of world-renowned clubs like ‘Real Madrid,’ ‘Manchester City,’ ‘Bayern Munich,’ and ‘Liverpool.’ He even travelled to London when he was just 11 years old to play for Chelsea’s youth team in a game against ‘Charlton Athletic.’ He eventually chose to play for ‘AS Monaco FC’ which competes in the popular French football league, ‘Ligue 1.’
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Career
Mbappé made his debut on December 2, 2015, when he played for ‘Monaco’ in a ‘Ligue 1’ game against ‘SM Caen.’ By making his debut at the age of 16, he broke Thierry Henry’s record and became Monaco’s youngest-ever first-team player. He scored his first goal on February 20, 2016, becoming the youngest goal-scorer for ‘Monaco.’ On March 6, Mbappé signed a three-year contract with ‘Monaco.’
On December 14, 2016, he scored his first hat-trick for Monaco’s first team in a game against ‘Stade Rennais’ in the ‘Coupe de la Ligue.’ On February 11, 2017, he scored his first hat-trick in ‘Ligue 1,’ helping his team win against ‘Football Club de Metz.’ He became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in ‘Ligue 1’ since Jérémy Ménez in 2005.
On February 21, he became the second youngest French football player to score a goal in ‘UEFA Champions League.’ On March 5, he scored two goals to help his team win against ‘FC Nantes.’ On March 11, he scored a goal against ‘FC Girondins de Bordeaux,’ securing a 2–1 win for ‘Monaco.’
On March 15, he helped ‘Monaco’ advance to the quarter-finals in the ‘UEFA Champions League.’ He then scored a goal in the second leg of the tournament, helping his team advance to the semi-finals. ‘Monaco’ was eventually eliminated from ‘UEFA Champions League’ by ‘Juventus.’ However, his team won the ‘Ligue 1’ title as Mbappé ended the season with 26 goals.
On August 31, ‘Paris Saint-Germain’ announced that it had signed Mbappé on loan. He made his debut for ‘Paris Saint-Germain’ on September 8 and scored a goal to help his team win against ‘Metz.’ On December 6, he became the youngest player to score his tenth ‘Champions League’ goal when he scored against ‘Bayern Munich.’
On May 17, 2018, Mbappé was named in the national squad for the 2018 ‘FIFA World Cup.’ He scored his first ‘World Cup’ goal on June 21, helping France beat Peru in the ‘Group C’ match. On June 30, he won the ‘man of the match’ award for helping France secure a win against Argentina. During the game, he became the second teenager after the legendary Pelé to score twice in a ‘World Cup’ match.
On July 15, he scored a goal against Croatia in the ‘World Cup Final’ to help France win the prestigious tournament. He also became the second teenager to score a goal in a ‘World Cup Final.’ For his extraordinary performance throughout the ‘World Cup,’ Mbappé won the ‘Best Young Player Award.’
On September 1, 2018, he was sent off the field in a game against ‘Nîmes Olympique’ as he was given a red card for the first time in his career. On October 8, he scored four goals against ‘Olympique Lyonnais,’ becoming the youngest player to score four goals in a ‘Ligue 1’ game.
Awards & Achievements
For his impressive performance in the 2016–17 season, the ‘National Union of Professional Footballers’ (UNFP) honored him with the ‘Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year’ award. He won the award again in the subsequent season.
In 2017, he won the ‘Golden Boy’ award which is given annually by sports journalists. In the same year, he was recognized by the ‘Union of European Football Associations’ (UEFA) as the eighth-best player in the world. In April 2017, he was honored with the ‘UNFP Player of the Month’ trophy. He won the same trophy in March and August 2018.
In 2018, he was recognized as the fourth-best player in the world by the ‘Fédération Internationale de Football Association’ (FIFA). Thanks to his impressive performance in the ‘World Cup,’ he was included in the ‘FIFA World Cup Dream Team’ and the ‘IFFHS Men’s World Team.’ He won the ‘Kopa Trophy,’ which is given to the best player under the age of 21. He also won the ‘French Player of the Year’ award (2018).
Family & Personal Life
Kylian Mbappé has an older brother named Jirès Kembo Ekoko. Ekoko, a professional football player, was adopted by Mbappé’s father when he was young. Mbappé also has a younger brother named Ethan Mbappé. Ethan, who has represented the under-12 ‘Paris Saint-Germain’ team, was Mbappé’s mascot in one of the ‘Champions League’ games.
Mbappé’s style of celebrating his goals was inspired by Ethan. In one of his interviews, he revealed that his younger brother would celebrate in a similar fashion after beating him in EA Sports' ‘FIFA’ video game.
Mbappé has been involved in philanthropic activities. On February 22, 2018, he met ‘FIFA’ president Gianni Infantino and French President Emmanuel Macron along with the Liberia President George Weah and former professional football player Didier Drogba. The meeting, which was held at the ‘Élysée Palace’ in Paris, was about a sports development project in the African continent. In an interview, Mbappé mentioned about his father’s African origins and said the development of sports in Africa is important to him.
