Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the France national team. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his pace, dribbling, and clinical finishing. Born in Paris and raised in nearby Bondy, Mbappé began his senior club career in 2015 with Monaco. With Monaco, he won the Ligue 1 title for the 2016–17 season. In 2017, at age 18, Mbappé signed for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on an eventual permanent transfer worth €180 million, making him the second-most-expensive player and most expensive teenage player of all time. With PSG, he won six Ligue 1 titles and four Coupes de France, including a domestic quadruple in the 2019–20 season, while also leading the club to its first ever UEFA Champions League final in 2020. He is the club's all-time top goalscorer, ranks third in assists, and is the seventh-highest goalscorer in Ligue 1 history. In 2024, after several years of speculation, Mbappé joined Real Madrid on a free transfer, winning the Pichichi Trophy and his first European Golden Shoe in his debut season. At the international level, Mbappé made his senior debut for France in 2017. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mbappé became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, as well as the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup final. He finished as the joint second-highest goalscorer as France won the tournament, and he was honored as the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player and French Player of the Year. He helped France to victory in the UEFA Nations League in 2021, receiving the top scorer award in the finals. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, France reached the final again; Mbappé won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball, and set a new record for the most goals scored in World Cup final matches. Mbappé, who scored a hat trick in the match, is one of only two players to have scored in two consecutive World Cup finals. Mbappé finished in third place for the 2023 Ballon d'Or and was runner-up for The Best FIFA Men's Player award of 2022. He has been named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 six times, and in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season four times. He was awarded the Golden Boy in 2017, the Kopa Trophy in 2018, and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2018. Mbappé has been named Ligue 1 Player of the Year a record five times, and has finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for a record six seasons; in the 2021–22 season, he became the first player to finish as both Ligue 1 top scorer and top assist provider. Mbappé was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2023 and was listed by Forbes as one of the world's ten highest-paid athletes in 2023 and 2024.