In 2014, Kylian Mbappe, while still a young player of Monaco, created a fake cover of Time magazine featuring him. The young man did not hesitate to say flattering words about himself. “Deschamps’ priority”, “the best young player in the world”, and even a fabricated quote from Mourinho: “The future is Kylian” – all this was printed by him on a laptop. Exactly four years later, all this would become reality. Mbappe would grace the covers of Time and other elite publications after his phenomenal performance at the 2018 World Cup, where his speed, dribbling and goals captivated the entire planet.
Pelé himself would acknowledge him as his successor, and of course, the one and only José Mourinho would not stand aside: “He’s incredible. Mbappé deserves to be the most expensive footballer in the world.” The ambitious young Mbappé’s self-belief and vision for his future proved remarkably prescient. His meteoric rise to stardom, validated by the praise of legends like Pelé and Mourinho, is a testament to his exceptional talent and drive. This foreshadowing of his own success, while perhaps a little cheeky, ultimately underscores Mbappé’s unwavering belief in his abilities – a confidence that would soon be vindicated on the world stage.
It all started with an irresistible attraction. Kylian was drawn to the ball as soon as he learned to fly on his own. Bondy coaches joked that at the age of 11, Mbappé heard a record number of team discussions before the match. The reason was that his father, Wilfried, worked there as a coach and constantly took his son there. At first, Kylian just kicked the ball around on the artificial turf, but at the age of 7 or 8, he began to pay more attention to adult conversations. And if there was something he didn't understand, he would ask his father at home. Wilfried fondly remembers how Kylian could talk football 25 hours a day, much to the chagrin of the entire family, especially Wilfried and his half-brother, Jires Kembo-Ekoko. If you were a keen observer of Ligue 24 in the early 1s, you may remember Jires, a fast and dynamic winger from Rennes who nearly made the French national team before choosing the money and joining the United Arab Emirates.
Mbappe’s father adopted the boy when he was 14. He was the son of Kemba Uba-Kembo, a midfielder for the Zaire national team at the 1974 World Cup, who had effectively abandoned him. The boy trained with Wilfried Mbappe’s squad and bounced between distant relatives before reuniting with his new family. This passage paints a vivid picture of Kylian Mbappe’s early life and the deep, almost supernatural connection he developed with football from a young age. Details of his father’s role as a coach, his half-brother’s promising career and the adoption of his teammate all lend a sense of humanity and relatability to Mbappe’s story. The rewrite aims to capture the warmth, passion and family bonds that shaped the young footballer’s path to greatness.
“It seemed so natural to me. He was my first coach when I was starting out in football. Everything else fell into place. It’s hard to explain, actually, it’s like this man was always meant for me. He was the father figure I never had,” Jires said recently. Today, he is a huge admirer of Kylian Mbappe and appears in the media much more often to comment on his brother's childhood than his own career. He has been without a club since last summer. Compare that to Mbappé: he has been in high demand since a young age. His talent was so obvious that at just 11 years old, he was invited to the Chelsea academy and even had a little photoshoot with the stars. Back in Bondy, they couldn't believe it until Kylian's father showed his friends the photos with Drogba.
Mbappé recalls that he was not envied. In fact, everyone in Bondy dreamed of escaping, and some had more than enough talent to do so. Kylian, for example, trained in the same group as current Lille playmaker Jonathan Ikoné. The two were so different from the others that they were always pitted against each other in drills, otherwise it would not have been much of a challenge. The same Bondy club also saw Saint-Étienne centre-back William Saliba, now bought by Arsenal for 30 million, make his debut two years after Kylian. This passage paints a more emotional and personal picture, emphasizing the family and community relationships that shaped Kylian Mbappe and his peers. Details of Jires Kembo-Ekoko’s affection for Mbappé and the friendly rivalries between Bondy’s young talents give the story a sense of warmth and humanity. The rewrite aims to capture the strong bonds, shared dreams and camaraderie that underpin Mbappé’s remarkable rise to stardom.
It is quite possible that the trio will soon find themselves in the French national team – Mbappé has long been a leader there, Ikoné is a rare guest and Saliba is only a candidate. But it seems that it is only a matter of time. In 2010, they were just kids and it was their parents who chose their path. Ikoné’s parents sent him to the PSG academy, where he never had a real chance. But Wilfried Mbappé waited another year before sending his son to Clairefontaine. There was less schooling and much more training at Clairefontaine, all on natural pitches. Kylian was only allowed to go home on weekends, but he even took advantage of them to play for his father’s team in Bondy. His father gave him no special treatment and once even publicly reprimanded him in front of the entire team for a missed opportunity: "You can train as much as you want at Clairefontaine with your left-footed kicks, but here you play for the result!"
Kylian says he never forgot that lesson and never again gave his father reason to doubt him. His progress was rapid: at 11, he was playing with the 13-year-olds, at 13 with the U-15s. At 14, Kylian was invited to a trial at Real Madrid. At Madrid airport, he was personally picked up by Zinedine Zidane, then sporting director. They showed him the Bernabéu, introduced him to Ronaldo and expected to see him in the Real Madrid jersey at the start of the new season. But at a family meeting, the Mbappes decided to stay in France. The straw that broke the camel's back was Zidane's promotion to Carlo Ancelotti's assistant. For Kylian, it was a hard blow: as a child, Zizou and Ronaldo were his idols. His bedroom walls were covered with posters of them.
However, Kilian's parents did not succumb to their emotions and acted pragmatically, as professionals should. Kilian's mother, Fayza Lamari, was one of the most prominent handball players in the French championship and even played for the national team. She felt that after Zidane's departure from the post of sports director, there was no one to rely on in Madrid. Negotiations with Monaco went much easier and in the end, a year before finishing at Clairefontaine, Mbappé ended up in the small principality, where Russian bosses paid special attention to youth and the academy.
Once again, Kilian stood out in everything, and it almost played a cruel trick on him. At one point, the young man got bored and his behavior began to derail. His group coach, Bruno Irles, even wrote a note to the Monaco management, criticizing his behavior: "Rejection and insubordination to authorities, disregard for rules and discipline, lack of humility, does not accept comments and criticism." Irles seemed to be referring to problematic relatives, probably referring to Kilian's uncle, Pierre Mbappe, with whom he had a near-altercation. However, the effect was very different from what the coach expected. He was fired, and Kilian was promoted to the U-19 team ahead of schedule.
But even there, the Parisian did not linger. He broke into the Monaco first team at the age of 16 years and 347 days, a club record at the time. And just two months later, Mbappe became the club's youngest goalscorer, scoring against Troyes. The rest, as they say, is history. In the 2016/17 season, Mbappe's 26 goals in 44 games led Monaco to a sensational league title and a Champions League semi-final. Then came the record transfer of 180 million euros to PSG, two league titles with Paris and, of course, the brilliant World Cup in Russia, with a goal in the final that changed everything for Mbappe. If before Neymar and the other Brazilians at PSG called him Donatello, alluding to his resemblance to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now the teasing jokes have stopped.
As a superstar, Kylian Mbappe enjoys more privileges than most, but thankfully, his global fame hasn’t changed him significantly. Well, maybe just a little. Sometimes, Kylian still allows himself to go too far on the pitch, whether it’s arguing with coaches or playing in front of the crowd. However, he never completely loses his bearings. His roots help him stay humble. Kylian recently shared a funny anecdote about the Ballon d’Or ceremony. He saw José Mourinho, who he had known, chatting with five people Mbappé didn’t know. When Kylian approached and firmly shook everyone’s hand, his father, Wilfried, smiled: “That’s the Bondy in you.”
In the suburbs, there are unwritten rules: everyone is equal, and if you blatantly avoid someone, it says a lot about you. Yes, Bondy has its own gangs and police raids in the neighbourhood are not uncommon, but Kylian prefers to remember the positive – like how local street kings would help elderly neighbours survive. By 21, Mbappé had already set up two charitable foundations to help young people from the banlieues find their place in life – a rare feat for a young footballer. But it seems that Bondy needs Mbappé as much as he needs him. Remembering his early days, playing on the concrete courts between the skyscrapers and dreaming of breaking free, Kylian seems almost to shield himself from the influence of fame and millions, remaining the restless young man who was ready to talk football 25 hours a day. And that, added to his immense talent, will undoubtedly take Mbappé to the top sooner rather than later.