Kylian Mbappé takes center stage as France seeks to retain World Cup title
Frenchman Kylian Mbappé is all the rage on social media ahead of the grand finale of the 2022 Fifa World Cup. The 23-year-old has been instrumental in the French national team’s qualification to the World Cup final where Argentina awaits them in a mouthwatering showdown on Sunday in Doha for the ultimate prize in global football.
And what a final it promises to be between the reigning champions and the South American giants who on their part will be banking on one Lionel Messi who is Mbappé’s clubmate at Paris Saint-Germain. Going into the final, the two super stars are also locked in a intriguing battle for the tournament’s Golden Boot with five goals apiece.
But who exactly is Mbappé and why is he attracting so much public attention?
Born on December 20, 1998 in Paris and raised in nearby Bondy, north eastern suburbs of Paris, Mbappé began his senior club career in 2015 playing for Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title.
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His father, Wilfried, is originally from Cameroon, and, as well as being Mbappé’s agent, is a football coach, while his mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian Kabyle (an ethnic group in Northern Algeria) origin and is a former handball player.
Mbappé has more than 77.7 million followers on Instagram with most of his posts attracting over 1million likes and over 5000 comments. The young star lives an opulent lifestyle that involves travelling to new locations and sharing the excursions with his fans. Often he meets and dines with other prominent footballers.
Mbappé is also a renowned philanthropist, having launched his own foundation for disadvantaged youths in Paris and donated all of his national team match fees to charity. He refuses to endorse any brands associated with alcohol, gambling and fast food.
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He is also a shrewd businessman with a keen eye for fashion, having inked a sea of deftly curated partnerships with the likes of Nike, Electronic Arts, Hublot, Dior and Oakley – all the while pocketing a jaw-dropping £1.2million (Sh147 million) weekly wage at PSG.
A serial winner, both at club and national team level, Mbappé already has one World Cup title under his belt, having been part of the triumphant French side in Russia four years ago.
And with the World Cup final set for December 18, just two days before Mbappé turns 24, the French forward has every reason to look forward to an extra special birthday. But for that to happen, Mbappé will probably be required to put up the best performance of his career thus far.
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