Kylian Mbappé

Mbappé therefore became Monaco's youngest-ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 347 days, breaking the previous record set by Thierry Henry in 1994.

Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for 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.

Kylian Mbappé Lottin was born on 20 December 1998 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris and was raised in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.

His father,, is originally from the Cameroonian island of , and, as well as being his 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 in the Paris Saint-Germain Academy.

Their older adoptive brother, Jirès Kembo Ekoko, is a former professional footballer.

As a child, 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 eventually became fluent in the language.

Among Mbappé's idols growing up were Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazario, Eden Hazard and Thierry Henry.

As a child, Mbappé received Robinho's AC Milan shirt as a gift from his nanny's family, who were supporters of the Italian club.

However, Mbappé aspired to play for Real Madrid.

Mbappé was coached by his father, Wilfrid, when he started his career with AS Bondy.

Another of his youth coaches at AS Bondy, Antonio Riccardi, stated,

"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)."

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.

In July 2013, at the age of 14, Mbappé joined the youth academy of Monaco, signing a three-year contract.

The club had beat competition from Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane, who was "very involved" in efforts to sign him.

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 October 2015, Mbappé was brought in by Leonardo Jardim to be a mainstay in Monaco's reserve 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.

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.

On 6 March 2016, Mbappé signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal, tying him to Monaco until June 2019.

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.

At international level, Mbappé made his senior debut for France in 2017, at age of 18.

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.

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.

He also helped France to victory in the UEFA Nations League in 2021, receiving the top scorer award in the finals.

At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final again; Mbappé won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball and set the record for the most goals scored in World Cup final matches 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.

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 all time in assists.

He is the ninth-highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 history.