Kylian Mbappe is reportedly close to joining La Liga champions Real Madrid in the summer of 2022.

The 23-year-old France international has been a long-term target for Los Blancos, and is likely to make a decision on his future soon, as per journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Mbappe was raised in Bondy, a commune close to France’s capital city of Paris. He is of African descent, as his father Wilfried - a former football coach and his football agent - hails from Cameroon while his mother is of Algerian Kabyle descent.

Kylian Mbappe’s football journey began at his hometown club AS Bondy in 2004, where he was coached by his father. He eventually joined the prestigious Clairefontaine academy at the age of 12 but continued playing for Bondy.

His talent attracted a host of clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich who were battling for his signature. At the age of 11, Mbappe trained with Real Madrid after getting an invitation and three years later, he would play a trial match for Chelsea youth against Charlton Athletic.

In 2015, Mbappe signed for AS Monaco at the age of 14. After four goals in 12 matches for the reserve team, it didn’t take long for then senior team manager Leonardo Jardim to promote the youngster to the first team.

In December 2015, Kylian Mbappe became Monaco's youngest debutant in history when he was brought on as a substitute for Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao. At 16 years and 347 days, Mbappe broke the previous record set by one of his idols Thierry Henry, who made his Monaco debut at 17 years and 14 days in 1994 under Arsene Wenger.

While at Monaco, Mbappe overwrote a multitude of records, becoming the youngest goalscorer for the club (17 years and 62 days), youngest to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick (18 years and two months) and second-youngest French scorer in UEFA Champions League history (18 years, 2 months and a day).

Kylian Mbappe registered 26 goals and 11 assists in 44 appearances across all competitions for Monaco in their Ligue 1-winning season in 2016-17, but would join rivals Paris Saint Germain, initially on loan, after just two games in the 2017-18 season.

After his loan spell, Kylian Mbappe joined PSG on a permanent deal for a fee of €145 million plus €35 million in add-ons, making him the most expensive teenager in history and the second-most expensive player in football after PSG teammate Neymar. The contract offered was a four-year deal until June 2022.

Mbappe scored on debut for Les Parisiens in the Ligue 1, and four days later, netted his first Champions League goal for PSG in an away win at Celtic. In doing so, the French international became the youngest player in history to score a UCL goal for two different clubs.

Kylian Mbappe has netted 168 goals in 216 appearances for Paris Saint Germain and is the club’s second-highest goalscorer behind Edinson Cavani (200 goals). He has won 12 titles in his time at the club (Four Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups, three French Super Cups and two French League Cups) 

PSG’s failure to win the UEFA Champions League is reportedly one of the reasons why Kylian Mbappe hasn’t committed to the club yet, and as per multiple reports, the World Cup winner is set to put pen to paper on a lucrative deal with new La Liga champions Real Madrid this summer.

Kylian Mbappe’s teams

Teams Years Matches Goals
AS Monaco II 2015-2016 2 2
AS Monaco 2015-2017 27 60
Paris Saint Germain 2017-present 216 168*

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / PATRICK HERTZOG

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Kylian Mbappe Lottin - ForwardParis Saint-GermainReal MadridMonaco UEFA Champions LeagueLigue 1