Six months after the 1998 World Cup ended, the aftertaste of the biggest tournament on the planet still lingers in the hearts of French football lovers. In stores, on park benches, soccer is still the topic of conversation.
Passion flows through the veins
In a small house in the town of Bondy, located 11 km from Stade de France, a lovely child was just born. With a father who is a former football player and a mother who is a former handball player, visitors happily predict the child’s future career choice. “Like your father, you must follow your father’s career,” a relative said.
That boy is Kylian Mbappe, son of Mr. Wilfried Mbappe, coach of local club AS Bondy. The boy’s mother, Mrs. Fayza, was also a professional handball player.
As expected by his relative, passion for football has flowed through Kylian’s veins since he was a boy. “My son, Kylian, absolutely loves football. Kylian can sit and watch everything related to football. He can watch 4 or 5 matches at a time,” Mr. Wilfried once said.
At the age of 6, Kylian’s football qualities were evident. A year later, the boy’s talent was noticed by French football scouts. They immediately took Mbappe to the Clairefontaine Training Academy, where Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Blaise Matuidi and Hatem Ben Arfa once studied.
With natural ability and constant effort to learn, Mbappe quickly became a prominent factor at Clairefontaine. The boy received many collective and individual awards, making his friends jealous. At the age of 14, Mbappe’s profile appeared in Liberation magazine and France Football. Immediately, that teenager was noticed by a series of teams such as Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool. But Mbappe turned down every opportunity to go to major tournaments to go to Monaco. The reason is because Mbappe wants to continue to learn and hone his skills before entering the big arena.
Kylian Mbappe is preparing to join Real for 161 million pounds. Once successful, all coach Zidane has to do is find a suitable position for the French player in the squad. Of course, it’s not an easy thing.
Living simply, afraid of being attacked by girls
But Mbappe’s mother also revealed another reason behind her son’s decision to go to Monaco.
With his talent, Mbappe is admired by many girls. In the stands, many girls were ready to cry because of Mbappe. After each match, many girls wait in the parking lot to ask for an autograph from the rising star of France. This makes Mbappe’s mother extremely worried. She supported her son’s decision to go to Monaco because: “Living in Paris will be more difficult because of the harassment from girls. In Monaco, it will be safe.”
Because of his family’s close ties, Mbappe, despite being extremely popular with rumors of moving to Real with a record contract of 180 million euros, still maintains a very simple lifestyle. For that 18 year old boy, there is no concept of fame.
Mbappe still lives in a room at Monaco’s training center even though his salary is enough to buy a luxury villa. “He saw some of his teammates lost their way because they suddenly had a rich life. To protect my son, I convinced him to stay at the club’s training center and he agreed immediately,” Mbappe’s father explained his son’s choice.
Whenever he has free time, Mbappe returns to the house his family rents near the stadium to sleep with his parents and younger brother. Early in the morning, that boy went to the training center in his parents’ car.
Mbappe was criticized for being old before his time
Some social network users humorously searched for photos to prove that Mbappe looks older than his age. Even though he is only 18 years old, every time Mbappe smiles, wrinkles and crow’s feet are clearly visible at the corners of his eyes. It is this feature that makes the Monaco star look older.
