Back in October 2018, as the ticker-tape settled on France’s World Cup victory, Time magazine crowned the boy who would be king.
‘Kylian Mbappe is the future of soccer,’ they declared. Gazing out from the classic cover, where cultural icons and world leaders jostle for space, was a kid from Paris’ rough outer ring.
Then just 19, Mbappe had become the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele. Already the world’s most expensive teenager, he was then named the tournament’s best young player.
France star Kylian Mbappe (above) is more prominent and powerful than ever
But Mbappe never thought his — or France’s — reign would last. ‘In four years, you are forgotten,’ he said at the time. ‘There is someone else who has arrived and done better.’
He was half right. New stars have emerged; scandal and storm clouds have converged. More than once, time threatened to dethrone Mbappe. As France prepare to defend their title, however, the forward is more prominent and powerful than ever.
Expectations abound in Qatar, where he will write the latest chapter of a remarkable career.
Since that crowning summer in Russia, Mbappe has considered quitting Les Bleus. He has taken on the French Football Federation. He has become entangled with presidents, witch doctors, an army of Twitter bots and the attack by one female club-mate on another at Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe with head coach Didier Deschamps as the French prepare their title defence
En route to signing football’s richest contract and cementing his position of strength for club and country, Mbappe has invited scorn and accusations of greed. Even this tournament could become a mere staging post in the melodrama of what comes next. It is of little help to manager Didier Deschamps, whose side are saddled with injuries (Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku are out) and scandal.
They could do with Mbappe finding the form of 2018, when he appeared on billboards in Paris and on the high-rise buildings of his home neighbourhood, Bondy. ‘I am living the life I always dreamed of,’ he told Time.
Even then, though, Mbappe preached important lessons: ‘The biggest stars and the greatest players are the most humble.’
He donated his World Cup earnings to charity. To this day, he reportedly forgoes his France match fees. His foundation, Inspired by KM, supports 98 children — from all backgrounds — until they begin working.
The then teenager played an influential role as France lifted the World Cup four years ago
And yet Mbappe finds himself in the most remarkable position: accused of hubris by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. ‘He has put himself in a situation where he is more important than the club,’ the Swede said.
What irked Ibrahimovic? In May, following a bitter tussle between PSG and Real Madrid, Mbappe stayed in France. It came at a cost: flirtation with Madrid saw him booed by PSG fans. His mural in Bondy was defaced with a death threat.
But Mbappe was repaid handsomely: more than €600million (£520m) over three years, supposedly. Reports claim Mbappe also negotiated a deal which meant he had a say in PSG’s sporting decisions. Among those who helped broker the deal was French president Emmanuel Macron.
Kylian Mbappe stars on the front cover of Time magazine in 2018
He called Mbappe several times, pleading: ‘I know you want to leave… you have an opportunity to write the history here. Everybody loves you.’
The president considered it his duty ‘to defend the country’; Mbappe believes his decision altered the French psyche. ‘A lot of things change,’ he said. ‘People start to say, “You don’t need to leave the country”.’
The self-importance is hardly surprising. PSG dispute the deal’s details but what is clear is that Mbappe was catapulted into a position of power that few — if any — footballers have enjoyed.
Allies have popped up in influential positions; Mbappe is considered the boss of his hometown club, in a dressing room featuring Neymar and Lionel Messi.
But on goes the circus. Mbappe has clashed with Neymar and questioned the tactics of PSG coach Christophe Galtier. He was booed at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris. He was paid late. He was caught up in Pogba’s saga with his brother, Mathias, who claimed the Juventus midfielder asked a witch doctor to curse Mbappe. Aminata Diallo, charged over a vicious attack on then-team-mate Kheira Hamraoui, reportedly used her relationship with the Mbappe family to curry favour with PSG.
Perhaps most incredibly, Mbappe was a supposed target of a ‘digital army’ after PSG hired an agency to carry out smear campaigns using Twitter bots. The club refute the allegation.
But amid broken promises and burned bridges, the 23-year-old is said to want to leave in January.
PSG players and staff are reportedly unhappy with his power and unpredictable moods
Publicly, Mbappe denies that but he has reportedly grown isolated at PSG, with team-mates and staff unhappy with his power and his unpredictable moods.
Turbulence has followed Mbappe to the national team, too. At Euro 2020, he missed the crucial penalty as France were dumped out by Switzerland. That sparked racist abuse, and after meeting French football chief Noel Le Graet (whose organisation have been rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct), Mbappe decided to quit international football, telling Sports Illustrated: ‘I said, “I cannot play for people who think I’m a monkey”.’
He changed his mind, only to lead players in a dispute with the federation over image rights. Again it signalled his sway and emboldened sense of self. Again it turned political. France’s sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera intervened, urging the FFF to find a solution. She had already defended Mbappe over his eye-watering contract.
Another government minister went further, insisting: ‘Mbappe isn’t an expense for PSG or France, he is a cultural and economic asset for our country.’
To shoulder that burden, Mbappe has been rewarded handsomely. But, over the past four years, he has paid a price, too.
