Kylian Mbappe: The future star. The Frenchman just turned 24 years old and is entering the prime of his career. He has already won a World Cup and five Ligue One titles. Mbappe came in sixth place in the recent Ballon D’or voting, with a chance to be a future winner.
But why is he a future star?
Kylian Mbappe burst onto the scene in 2016 when he was with Monaco. In 29 appearances he scored 15 goals with eight assists and helped lead Monaco to their first league title since 2000. He then joined PSG that summer at just the age of 18.
Mbappe had a phenomenal season with the French giants, scoring 24 league goals with eight in the Champions League. He won the Golden Boy award the same year, a trophy given to the best young player in Europe.
The 2018 World Cup is what gave Mbappe his platform. At just the age of 19, he led France to their second-ever World Cup win. He won the best young player in the tournament with four goals. This was just the beginning of the young Frenchman’s long and successful career.
Mbappe has been the king of Ligue One, dominating almost every opponent he faces. He has been top scorer four years in row with two Ligue One titles in the last three years. What makes Mbappe so lethal is his skills, speed, and goal-scoring ability.
He has been in the top 10 of the Ballon D’or voting since 2018, with his highest ranking coming in fourth place in 2018. Despite possibly being a future Ballon D’or winner, he has faced a ton of scrutiny in the last summer during the transfer window.
In May, Kylian Mbappe agreed to personal terms that he would sign with Real Madrid, leaving PSG after five years. Because of this, Real Madrid did not pursue Norwegian phenom Erik Haaland, who eventually ended up in Manchester City. In a blockbuster decision, Mbappe chose to stay with PSG after the offer they handed to him.
PSG reported offered him an £85 million signing bonus and a £42.9m annual salary until 2025, according to Express UK. He was also given permission to help in major club decisions, including who the team can sign or sell. This created a ton of backlash from Real Madrid fans, claiming that the only thing Mbappe cares about is money.
There has also been speculation that Mbappe is taking his role to the next level. He wanted PSG to sell Neymar in the summer because he felt that he is taking away from being the number one striker on the team. He was also seen not hustling in counterattacks and was visibly upset when Neymar took a penalty kick earlier in the season.
All this had begun to give Mbappe a bad reputation. However, he still proves that he is going to be the face of football in years to come. He so far has 12 goals in the league and seven in the Champions League.
Mbappe had one goal heading into Qatar and that was to win the World Cup for his country again. He had an even better tournament than in 2018 with eight goals, including a hat trick in the final. However, France came up short in penalties and lost to Argentina. He still won the golden boot for being the top scorer and he also won the silver ball for being the second-best player in the World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe already has 12 World Cup goals and he is just 24 years old. He is the future of football and will continue to keep his form as he enters the prime of his career. The two trophies Mbappe has left to win are the Ballon D’or and the Champions League. He has a good chance to win both next season if he stays healthy and continues to play at the top level.
