At the age of 19 Kylian Mbappe has already achieved more than most of the world’s best players could dream of across a 15-year career. The World Cup he won with France this summer was just another major addition to a trophy cabinet that is fast becoming overcrowded. Diego Maradona once described him as ‘the revelation of soccer’ and, if his first few seasons at the top of Europe’s elite are to go by, the boy wonder is only just getting started.
Mbappe joined Monaco at the tender age of 14 and made a handful of appearances across various competitions in his second year in the south of France. He made his debut on December 2, 2015, breaking Thierry Henry’s record to become the club’s youngest player at 16 years and 347 days.
It was at Monaco, in 2016/17, he burst onto the global scene by scoring 26 goals in a breakthrough campaign as the club won the French title and made the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Success had brought Mbappe to the attention of Europe’s finest though and he sealed a move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 in a staggering £166million transfer that initially started out as a loan.
The spotlight was focused more on Neymar after his arrival from Barcelona but Mbappe continued to thrive and netted a commendable 25 goals in 47 games for the eventual Ligue 1 champions.
There was even more domestic success to come though as Mbappe played a crucial role as the Parisians lifted the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue to complete a remarkable treble.
Players can often struggle to translate their club form onto the international scene but Mbappe has had no such trouble. He is a vital component of Didier Deschamps’ national side and has found the back of the net nine times in 24 caps for Les Bleus.
Mbappe netted a commendable 25 goals in 47 games for the eventual Ligue 1 champions.
In the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Argentina, Mbappe became the first teenager since the Brazilian Pele in 1958 to score at least twice in a game at the tournament.
That double, added to a group stage goal against Peru and the last in the final victory over Croatia in Moscow saw him finish with four goals for the tournament.
It was another milestone in what has been an incredible career so far. The scariest thing though is that you feel there’s so much more to come.