Paris, France | AFP | More collective on the pitch and more individualistic off it, the star Kylian Mbappé has acquired a new dimension with Paris Saint-Germain. By deciding to stay at the French club, after months of hesitation, he will somewhat outshine Neymar and Lionel Messi, the other two superstars in his team.
‘Kyky’ recently added a new title to his collection: after the World Cup and the second star in the ‘Bleus’ jersey in 2018, the supersonic French striker added a fourth Ligue 1 title to his record in April, with only 23 years old, his third league with PSG… and probably the most successful on a personal level.
Mbappé guided the Parisian team with his 25 goals and 17 assists in the French championship, finishing as the top scorer for the fourth time in a row.
In the near future, he will perhaps reach the record of Jean-Pierre Papin, top scorer in five consecutive seasons with Olympique de Marseille (1988-1992), after choosing to remain at PSG and not join Real Madrid, as rumored. for months.
The former Monaco player, who in 2017 became the second most expensive player in history when he signed for PSG for around 190 million dollars, will enter a new dimension with his new contract, with a salary higher than Messi’s according to the press and Neymar.
On the horizon of his goals, win his first Champions League and his first Ballon d’Or, two challenges that he has as priorities.
– Altruism –
On the pitch, the striker, detected as an unusual talent since his earliest childhood, has expanded his range of virtues.
To his formidable speed and ease of scoring, Mabappé has added a healthy dose of generosity in assisting goals. He has also perfected his dribbling, with an unstoppable hip strike.
Mbappé has even begun to score with his head, although in this facet of the game he is still far from other strikers like Olivier Giroud or Robert Lewandowski.
Outside the field of play, however, the prodigy is increasingly lonely. His most striking action in this regard is a refusal to participate in an advertisement with the French team, in disagreement with the collective management of image rights in Les Bleus, as his representatives had explained.
Mbappé and his entourage, his mother Fayza Lamari in the lead, who jealously watches over her son’s image, understand that his individual value must be considered differently.
Skilled communicator, the player knows how to defend his ideas in public. And he also knows how to defend himself against accusations that brand him as too individualistic.
– “People don’t understand the ego” –
“People do not understand the ego,” he explained to the French network RMC, “but when you are not well, there is no one who is going to come to your house to tell you that you are capable of doing it. No one but yourself is going to push you. And you need to convince yourself that you are capable of knocking down mountains.”
In Esquire magazine he admitted to being a star. “If your face is everywhere in the city, in the whole world, it is certain” that you are a star, she said. “Being a star is a status, but it doesn’t make me a better person than everyone else.”
Image of the American brand Nike, Mbappé, who has about 70 million followers on Instagram, also signed sponsorship contracts with the Dior couture brand and with Hublot watches.
Wherever he steps in France, Mbappé is number one in the applaudometer, from the Parc des Princes to Les Bleus training at Clairefontaine.
“Of course I’ve always wanted to be the first in everything in the French team,” proclaimed the striker (54 caps, 26 goals) after a magnificent match against South Africa (5-0) in March.
Betting on continuity, Mbappé will continue with his base in Paris and the Qatar-2022 World Cup, at the end of this year, is presented as his next great challenge.
