Ln March 10, all eyes will be on him. That day, Kylian Mbappé will play the second leg of the knockout stages of the Champions League between his club, Paris-Saint-Germain, against FC Barcelona. On the first leg, on February 16, the striker caused a sensation with his three goals against the Catalan team, pushing the score to 1-4. Being the center of attention, the footballer is used to it, he who was crowned world champion at only 20 years old.
At 22, Kylian Mbappé is young, very young. Even in his category of football superstars. However, he is used to the pages of the World for almost a decade. On October 15, 2011, two journalists from the Sport department, Rémi Dupré and Henri Seckel, began a soap opera, “Promo 98”. Or a series of articles devoted to residents of the National Football Institute, in Clairefontaine, all born in 1998, a landmark year for French football.
The journalists describe the training conditions, the “splendid grounds surrounded by trees and silence”, the “framework which resembles what must be the paradise of the footballers”. Kylian Mbappé is only mentioned once, when the whole promotion is listed. One of his comrades, with the same first name as him, but spelled differently, Kilian, is quoted: “As we are at Clairefontaine, we all say to ourselves that we are going to become professionals. ” Cruelty of fate, the little boy in question, Kilian Bevis, plays today within FC Messina, in Italy, an amateur club.
“Mbébé” has grown up well
As for Kylian Mbappé, the series “Promo 98” follows its rise. On March 10, 2012, we learn that he has a big brother, Jirès Kembo, then star striker of Stade Rennais, whose path he dreams of following. “I know that work and listening pay off”, analyzes the 13-year-old. In July of the same year, Rémi Dupré and Henri Seckel returned to Clairefontaine. They again describe the atmosphere between the students and the nicknames they wear on each other. “Kylian Mbappé was entitled to“ Chicots d’or ”, due to the light coloring of said snags. “ Soon it becomes apparent that the kid with the funny nickname has a mind-boggling career ahead of him. In July 2013, it is mentioned that he was “Spotted by Zinédine Zidane” at Real Madrid, but that he will eventually go to AS Monaco. Which earned him an amused remark from a trainer: “The Rock is not to run aground, is it?” ”
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