The modern football Pele: Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and the France national team.

He is rated to be one of the best players in the world currently for he is well regarded and known for his clinical finishing, dribbling, strength and explosive speed.

Background

He was born on 20th of December, 1998

(age 21 years). His parent are Wilfred Mbappe and Fayza Mbappe who are both African but settled in France.

The father is a Cameroonian with Nigerian roots, while his mother Fayza Mbappe is an Algerian.

Mbappe is a sensational man whose mastery of skills has taken the trail of the great Brazilian Pele.

He was groomed at AS Bondy where his father managed the club, afterwards he moved to Clairefontaine academy and also had a stint with Chelsea's under 11's team.

However, he eventually settled at AS Monaco where his remarkable career was set in motion.

He was the youngest player to featured for AS Monaco at 16 years of age when he made his debut on the 2nd of December 2015 against Caen.

Astonishingly in his first full season with AS Monaco, he won Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France title in 2016/17 season.

He scored 28 goals and 12 assists in 69 games for AS Monaco.

In the summer of 2017, he became the most expensive teenage player after his loan move to PSG with a mandatory option for a full transfer fee of 180million pounds.

Since he joined PSG, he has scored 102 goals - including 19 in UEFA Champions League - in 141 games

National level

He has been a good addition to the French national team, so far in 34 games he had 13 goals.

He was wonderful at the FIFA World Cup in 2018, as he scored 2 goals and was named the 2018 FIFA World Cup Best Young player and also the 2nd yet teenager to keep a tally of two goals in the world cup amid a goal in the final after Pele had set both records .

Honours 

4 Ligue 1 titles (2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20)

2 Coupe de France (2016/17 and 2019/20)

1 French Cup (2019/20)

2018 FIFA World Cup 

2016 UEFA European Under-19 championship trophy.

3-times Ligue 1 topscorer awards 

2018/19 Ligue 1 player of the year

2018 French Player of the year

The Golden Boy award at 2018 World Cup

2017 Ligue 1 Young player of the year

Can he clinch the Ballon d'Or award in future? 

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst 

9 Paris Saint Germain Players make the Top 10 of the Highest Paid Players in French Ligue 1

Tobi Adesina

Arab millionaires as most call them have gone a step further in flaunting their spending prowess. Away from acquiring the most expensive player in the world (Neymar Jr.), PSG now boast of 90% top-ten highest paid players in the French Ligue 1; with only Monaco’s Radamel Falcao making the top ten.

The figures below are based on gross weekly earnings for these players;

1.      Neymar Jr.: Who else could sit comfortably at top spot if not the man who shattered the most expensive record previously set by Welshman, Gareth Bale. Neymar moved from Barcelona for a record transfer fee of 200m pounds. He is on a weekly wages of 708k euro, placing him at par with the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

2.      Edinson Cavani: After being unsettled by the arrival of Neymar Jr., Cavani keeps racking up goals while earning 355k euro, a figure that appears to be half his Brazilian colleague.

3.      Kylian Mbappe:  Here comes the man that completes the deadly attacking trio of the “unstoppable” PSG attack. The 18year-old attacker switched from Monaco after an impressive season; earning 346k euro on weekly basis.

4.      Thiago Silva: The rock solid defender earns 300k euro a week. Being the captain of this star-studded team, the Brazilian central defender’s position in this order is justified.

5.      Angel Di Maria: The Argentine earns €258k every week at the capital. Having switched from Manchester United after a rather disappointing season, he currently sits as 5th highest earner in the French league.

6.      Marquinhos: The Brazilian defender ties with Angel Di Maria at 5th position. He also earns €258k per week at the Parc des Princes.

7.      Thiago Motta: The Brazil-born Italian international and a constant selection in the PSG midfield when fit also earns €202k per week.

8.      Javier Pastore: Been devoid of playing time is something no footballer wish for leading up to a world cup year. But Pastore has well adjusted to his place on the sidelines after the arrival of Mbappe and Neymar. The Argentine earns €178k a week.

9.      Radamel Falcao: The only player not plying his trade for the Paris outfit club, Falcao left Manchester united after a rather poor season going by his lofty standards. He currently earns €173k at Monaco and well justifying that figure with over 20goals per season.

10.    Dani Alves: The older the wine –the sweeter. In truth, Alves had his best performance wearing the Barcelona shirt but nothing has changed over the years for the adventurous right-back player. Left Barcelona for Juventus; played a pivotal role to the Scudeto winning side. He currently earns €162k a week at PSG.