Kylian Mbappé
1958
On 17 May 2018, Mbappé was called up to the France squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On 21 June 2018, he scored his first World Cup goal in France's 1–0 group stage win over Peru. This made him the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history at age 19. On 30 June 2018, he was named man of the match in a 4–3 win over Argentina, scoring twice and suffering a foul in the box which resulted in Antoine Griezmann opening the score from a penalty kick. Mbappé was the second teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match after Pelé in 1958. In a post-match press conference, Mbappé stated: "It's flattering to be the second one after Pelé but let's put things into context – Pelé is in another category."
1966
After appearances in France's wins against England and Morocco in the quarter and semi-finals, Mbappé became only the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, scoring three goals against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final. Argentina led 2–0 with just over ten minutes remaining before Mbappé scored twice in two minutes, the second from a volley after playing a one-two. In extra time, Argentina would take the lead again, from Mbappé's PSG teammate Messi, before Mbappé again drew France level with a penalty to make it 3–3 four minutes from the end of extra time and the match went to a penalty shoot-out; Mbappé scored his penalty, but France lost the shoot-out. He secured the tournament's Golden Boot with eight goals, and became the sixth all-time top goalscorer in World Cup history with twelve goals, tied with Pelé. Having scored a goal in the 2018 final, Mbappé also became the outright top goalscorer in World Cup finals, with four goals, and his hat-trick was the first in a final since Geoff Hurst for England in 1966.
1985
On 13 November, Mbappé scored his first goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with four goals in an 8–0 win over Kazakhstan as France booked their place for the tournament finals. Mbappé's super hat-trick, which included a 32-minute first half hat-trick, was his first for his country and the first competitive hat-trick scored for France since Dominique Rocheteau in 1985. Three days later, Mbappé scored and set up Benzema again in a 2–0 away win over Finland in France's last World Cup qualifier, his fifth assist for Benzema in a row.
1992
On 13 August 2022, Mbappé scored his first goal of the season for PSG in a 5–2 home victory over Montpellier, after having missed a penalty earlier in the match. Eight days later, he scored his first hat-trick of the season in a 7–1 away win over Lille. His first goal in the match was clocked at eight seconds, making it the second-fastest goal ever scored in Ligue 1 history, tenths of seconds later than Michel Rio's goal for Guingamp against Caen in 1992. On 6 September, Mbappé scored a brace in PSG's opening Champions League fixture against Juventus, securing a 2–1 home victory for the Parisians. On 11 October, he scored a penalty in a 1–1 Champions League draw at home to Benfica, becoming the leading goalscorer for PSG in European competitions with 31 goals. 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."
1997
Mbappé scored the first hat-trick of his first team career on 14 December 2016 in the 7–0 rout of Rennes in the Coupe de la Ligue round of 16 at the Stade Louis II – the first hat-trick scored by any Monaco player in the competition since Sonny Anderson in 1997.
December 1998
Kylian Mbappé Lottin was born on 20 December 1998 in Paris and was raised in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. His father, Wilfried, is originally from Cameroon, and, as well as being Mbappé's agent, is a football coach. His mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian Kabyle origin and is a former handball player. He has a younger brother, Ethan, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain's youth side. Mbappé's adoptive brother, Jirès Kembo Ekoko, is also a professional football player. As a child, Kylian Mbappé went to a private Catholic school in Bondy, where he was considered academically gifted but unruly. At 15, he began taking Spanish lessons and became fluent in the language. Growing up, his idols were Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário, and Cristiano Ronaldo. During his childhood, he had a nanny whose entire family were AC Milan fans from whom Mbappé once received Robinho's number 70 shirt as a gift. However, as a child, Mbappé aspired to play for Real Madrid.
December 1998
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. Considered as one of the most valuable and best players in the world, he is renowned for his dribbling abilities, exceptional speed, and finishing.
2005
On 11 February 2017, Mbappé scored the first Ligue 1 hat-trick of his career in the 5–0 home win over Metz; at 18 years and two months he became the youngest player to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick since Jérémy Ménez did it for Sochaux back in 2005.
2015
Born in Paris and raised in nearby Bondy, Mbappé began his senior club career in 2015 playing for Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title. 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. There, he won four Ligue 1 titles and three Coupes de France, including a domestic quadruple in the 2019–20 season, as well as leading the club to its first ever UEFA Champions League Final in 2020. He is the club's all-time top goalscorer and third all-time in assists.
October 2015
In October 2015, Mbappé was brought in by Leonardo Jardim to be a mainstay in Monaco's B-team but his level of skill and maturity prompted his promotion to the main squad after just three weeks. He made his first team debut two months later on 2 December 2015 in a 1–1 Ligue 1 home draw against Caen, replacing Fábio Coentrão after 88 minutes. He therefore became Monaco's youngest-ever first-team player aged 16 years and 347 days, breaking Thierry Henry's record set 21 years previously.
2016
Mbappé 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 Globe Soccer Best Player of the Year in 2021. He has won the Golden Boy in 2017, Ligue 1 Player of the Year three times, and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for four seasons; in the 2021–22 season, he became the first player to finish as both Ligue 1 top scorer and top assist provider.
February 2016
On 20 February 2016, Mbappé scored his first goal for the club's first team, a stoppage-time goal in a home Ligue 1 3–1 win over Troyes; 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. On 6 March 2016, Mbappé signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal, tying him to Monaco until June 2019. In an interview with CNN, Vadim Vasilyev, AS Monaco's vice-president, who played a key role in Mbappé signing his first professional contract with the Ligue 1 club, stated that he knew early on that Mbappé was a "phenomenon."
2017
At international level, Mbappé made his senior debut for France in 2017, at age 18. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mbappé became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, and became 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, and won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player and French Player of the Year for his performances. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final; Mbappé won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball and set the record for most goals scored in World Cup finals.
2017
Mbappé has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. In 2017, his prodigious talent saw Nike launch his own personalised football boots at age 18, the Kylian Mbappé Nike Hypervenom 3. In 2018, he unveiled the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots which were inspired by the R9 Mercurial boots of former Brazilian striker Ronaldo. In 2018, Swiss watchmaker Hublot signed Mbappé as a global ambassador.
March 2017
Mbappé was called up to the senior France squad for the first time to face Luxembourg and Spain in March 2017. He made his debut on 25 March against the former side, coming on for Dimitri Payet in the 78th minute of a 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification away win. In doing so, he became the second youngest player ever (only behind Maryan Wisniewski) to feature for France at 18 years, three months and five days old. On 31 August 2017, Mbappé scored his first senior international goal in a 2018 World Cup qualification match against the Netherlands. He scored twice against Russia in a friendly in March 2018.
April 2017
In April 2017, former France international Nicolas Anelka said that Mbappé's ability to run at defences reminded him of Ronaldo of the 1996 Olympics and that Mbappé had the characteristics of a world-class player. Mbappé was named the fastest player in the world in a ranking by French newspaper Le Figaro. When Stefan de Vrij, central defender for Inter Milan and the Netherlands, was asked of his toughest opponent, he placed Mbappé ahead of anyone else, including Mbappé's childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2018, Mbappé was considered the world's most expensive player from a transfer value perspective by the CIES.
August 2017
On 31 August 2017, Paris Saint-Germain announced the signing of Mbappé from Monaco on loan. Part of the tipping point was a convincing speech by then-Paris coach Unai Emery at the Mbappés' home in the summer, when Zidane was not guaranteeing the youngster a starting spot at Real Madrid (fresh from their 12th Champions League triumph) with an attacking trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. PSG scout Luis Ferrer told Le Parisien: "I remember how strong Unai was, how good! He gave his word to Kylian that he would play with him. And he kept his promise. Kylian wasn't quite ready for a Champions League game but Unai had committed, so he played him anyway. One night I got back to Paris at 10:30 p.m. When I arrived, I called Antero [Henrique, PSG sporting director] to give him an update and he was surprised that I hadn't stayed in the south. The next day, at six o'clock, I took the first flight. Two hours later I rang the doorbell of the Mbappés with croissants."
February 2018
On 22 February 2018, Mbappé was joined by two of Africa's greatest strikers, former AC Milan forward and current Liberia President George Weah, and former Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba, in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Élysée Palace in Paris that focused on a sports development project in Africa. Mbappé stated that the development of African sport is important to him due to his parents' African origins.
May 2018
Mbappé scored on his debut on 8 September in a 5–1 Ligue 1 win at Metz, in which Benoît Assou-Ekotto was sent off for fouling him. Four days later, Mbappé recorded his first European goal for Les Parisiens in a 5–0 UEFA Champions League group stage away defeat of Celtic. He starred in PSG's 3–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the second group game of the Champions League, setting up goals for Edinson Cavani and Neymar, the latter seeing him taking out a defender with a feint by rolling the ball under his foot. On 6 December, Mbappé scored his 10th Champions League goal in a 3–1 defeat to Bayern Munich and became the youngest player to reach that mark at the age of 18 years and 11 months. Having won his first league title with the club, on 8 May 2018, Mbappé played as PSG won 2–0 against Les Herbiers to clinch the 2017–18 Coupe de France.
July 2018
In July 2018, Mbappé was given the number 7 jersey for the upcoming season with PSG, taking up the squad number vacated by Lucas Moura. Sporting the hashtag #K7LIAN, Mbappé stated, "I keep trying to progress on the pitch and I think that, for me, it was the right time to change number. It is something of an affirmation. The No. 7 shirt is a legendary one and many greats have worn it. I hope that I will be able to do this number justice on the pitch."
January 2019
On 19 January 2019, Mbappé was one of two players (the other being Cavani) to score a hat-trick in a 9–0 win over Guingamp, breaking a record PSG set the previous season. On 12 February, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League round of 16. On 2 March, he scored twice in a 2–1 away win over Caen to reach his 50th goal with the club. On 6 March, PSG lost 3–1 at home against Manchester United, to be knocked out from the Champions League on the away goals rule.
January 2019
On 28 January 2019, Mbappé donated $34,000 (around £26,000) to a crowdfunding campaign to finance a private search mission to find football player Emiliano Sala, whose light aircraft had gone missing over the English Channel a week earlier. Later, on 10 February 2019, Mbappé donated a further £27,000 to the GoFundMe campaign created to fund the search for the plane's still-missing pilot, David Ibbotson.
June 2019
On 11 June 2019, Mbappé scored his 100th career goal in a 4–0 away win over Andorra in Euro 2020 qualifying. On 5 September 2020, Mbappé scored the only goal for France in a 1–0 UEFA Nations League win against Sweden. However, two days after the game, he tested positive for COVID-19. He made his return to play for France in a 7–1 victory against Ukraine on 7 October 2020, a match in which he scored a goal and assisted another. One week later, he scored the match-winning goal in a 2–1 win against Croatia. France topped their Nations League Group and qualified for the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals.
May 2020
On 1 May 2020, PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions after the season had been called off amid the COVID-19 pandemic; at the time of the League's premature suspension, PSG were in first place, with a twelve–point lead over second–placed Marseille. Mbappé finished the 2019–20 season as joint-top scorer in Ligue 1 with 18 goals, along with Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder. However, Mbappé was assigned the title of top scorer due to his superior goals per game ratio. On 24 July, in the 2020 Coupe de France Final against Saint-Étienne, Mbappé was forced off after sustaining an injury following a challenge from Loïc Perrin, who was sent off; PSG won the match 1–0, although Mbappé was ruled out of the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final, which PSG went on to win, completing a domestic treble. He returned to action in the Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta on 12 August, coming on a substitute, and assisting Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's match–winning goal in injury time. PSG eventually lost out in the 2020 Champions League Final 1–0 to Bayern Munich on 23 August.
September 2020
Mbappé missed the first three matches of the season after contracting COVID-19 while playing with the France national team. He returned to action on 20 September 2020 in a 3–0 away win against Nice, and scored a goal from a penalty kick. On 28 October, Mbappé recorded two assists, both for Moise Kean, in a 2–0 Champions League group stage victory against İstanbul Başakşehir. In doing so, he became the player with the most assists in the competition since the beginning of the 2017–18 edition, with his tally adding up to fourteen over the four seasons. In a Ligue 1 match against Montpellier on 5 December, Mbappé scored his 100th goal for PSG, becoming only the fifth player to achieve the feat for the Parisian club. In his side's final Champions League group match, Mbappé scored his first two goals of the European campaign against Başakşehir, as PSG won 5–1 and qualified for the knockout phase as group winners. He also became the youngest player in Champions League history to reach twenty goals (although this record would then be surpassed later on in the same season by Erling Haaland).
February 2021
On 16 February 2021, Mbappé became only the third player, after Faustino Asprilla and Andriy Shevchenko, to score a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona, doing so in PSG's 4–1 round of 16 win at the Camp Nou. Mbappé's hat-trick also saw him overtake Pauleta's total of 109 goals to become PSG's third-highest scorer, with only Cavani (200 goals) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (156 goals) getting more for the club. On 27 February, Mbappé scored twice in a 4–0 away win against Dijon, becoming the first player to score five braces in the Ligue 1 season. In the second leg against Barcelona on 10 March, Mbappé scored from the spot in a 1–1 draw at the Parc de Princes, as his side advanced to the quarter-finals 5–2 on aggregate. Mbappé's penalty was his 25th Champions League goal, surpassing opponent Lionel Messi as the youngest player to reach this milestone, aged 22 years and 80 days. Adding to his hat-trick from the first leg, Mbappé additionally became the first player to score four goals against Barcelona in a single Champions League season.
May 2021
UEFA Euro 2020 was postponed for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 18 May 2021, Mbappé was called up for the France squad for UEFA Euro 2020, his second major international tournament. On 15 June, Mbappè scored one goal and later assisted one, both of which were later deemed to be offside, in a group stage match against Germany. On 28 June, he provided the assist for Karim Benzema's first goal in France's match against Switzerland in the round of 16. After a 3–3 draw, the game went to a penalty shoot-out; Mbappé failed to score the decisive fifth penalty, and France were eliminated from the tournament. Mbappé failed to score in any of the four games France played in the competition.
August 2021
On 14 August 2021, prior to Paris Saint-Germain's opening home match of the 2021–22 season against Strasbourg, Mbappé was booed by the Parc des Princes amidst rumours that he wanted to sign for Spanish club Real Madrid. The match ended in a 4–2 victory for the Parisians, with Mbappé setting up three of his team's goals. He scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 away win against Brest six days later. The following match against Reims on 29 August, in which Lionel Messi notably made his debut for PSG, ended in a 2–0 Rouge-et-Bleu victory thanks to two Mbappé goals. On 24 November, Mbappé scored in a 2–1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. On 7 December, he scored two goals in a 4–1 Champions League home win over Club Brugge. The goals, which were his 30th and 31st in the Champions League, made him the youngest player to reach this milestone in the history of the competition.
October 2021
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. This was Mbappé's 50th appearance for Les Bleus at just 22 years and 9.5 months old. In the final three days later, he once again set-up Benzema to tie the match and later scored the match-winning goal for France to clinch the title for the first time with a 2–1 victory over Spain. With two goals and two assists in the Nations League Finals, Mbappé was awarded the competition's Golden Boot, known as the "Alipay Top Scorer Trophy."
November 2021
On 19 November 2021, Mbappé and Chinese diving gold medalist in the 2020 Summer Olympics Zhang Jiaqi became godfather and godmother respectively to two baby pandas at Beauval Zoo, as part of the campaign to create publicity and awareness for the species.
December 2021
On 12 December 2021, Mbappé scored twice against Monaco in Ligue 1 to reach a century of league goals for PSG. At 22 years and 357 days old, he became the youngest player to score 100 goals for a single team in the French top-flight since Opta began recording data in the 1950–51 season. On 3 January 2022, Mbappé scored his first hat-trick of the season in a 4–0 Coupe de France win over Vannes. On 11 February, he scored the winning goal in stoppage time in a 1–0 league win over Rennes, a feat he repeated four days later in a 1–0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16. He scored another goal in the second leg, making him the second-highest goalscorer in Paris Saint-Germain's history, but saw his team knocked out following a 3–1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
May 2022
On 21 May 2022, Mbappé extended his contract with PSG until 2025, despite speculations of a possible transfer to Real Madrid, which prompted La Liga officials to file a complaint to UEFA regarding accumulating losses of PSG in the previous years. Mbappé himself called and spoke to Real Madrid's president Florentino Pérez, during which he told him that he would not be signing for Real Madrid. According to Sky Sports, the financial details of Mbappé's contract include a monthly wage of £4 million, making him the highest-paid player in the world. Mbappé and PSG also reportedly secured a signing-on figure in the region of £100 million. In the hours following Mbappé's contract extension, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Metz, to finish the season with 28 goals as top scorer for the fourth consecutive season. He became the third player to finish as Ligue 1 top scorer four seasons in a row. Mbappé also provided 17 assists in the season, becoming the first player to finish as both top scorer and top assist provider in Ligue 1 history.
November 2022
France kicked off their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar against Australia on 22 November 2022. In the match, Mbappé was involved in three of France's four goals in a 4–1 victory; he was in the build-up for the second goal, scored the third – a header from an Ousmane Dembélé cross, and assisted Olivier Giroud for the fourth goal. Four days later, Mbappé scored both of France's goals in a 2–1 victory over Denmark, securing qualification to the knockout stages and thus breaking the "World Cup Champions' Curse". In the knockout round of sixteen against Poland, Mbappé scored two goals, the first into the roof of the net from 16 yards and the second a curling strike into the top corner, in a 3–1 win for France.
January 2023
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 26 February, Mbappé scored twice as PSG defeated Marseille 3–0 in Le Classique, with Mbappé also assisting a goal for Messi. He thus became the club's joint all-time top scorer with 200 goals, equalling Edinson Cavani's record. In the following match, a 4–2 win over Nantes, Mbappé scored his 201st PSG goal, taking the throne as the club's leading scorer.
March 2023
On 21 March 2023, following the international retirement of Hugo Lloris, manager Didier Deschamps named Mbappé the new captain of France ahead of their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Three days later, in his first match as captain, in the Euro qualifiers, he led France to a 4–0 victory over the Netherlands; he assisted Antoine Griezmann's goal and scored a brace.
