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Every generation has that kind of player who would stand above his peers with quality that is sure to confound, amuse and excite people in equal measure. For such a youngster, the kind of performance levels Kylian Mbappe reaches every week transcends belief, leading many to tip him to become the best player in the world at some point.
The-19-year-old, who calls Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo as his role model, is already better than the Portuguese was at the same age and it seems to be only the beginning for this amazing starlet.
Born in 1998 to an Algerian mother and a Cameroonian father, early coaches noted the ease with which he did some certain things that older players couldn’t muster. In those moments, they knew the boy was class apart. Mbappe got admitted to the famous Clairefontaine football academy in France, a school for talented U-13 youngsters in the country who would learn all they needed to become full-fledged professionals in the future.
He then joined Monaco in 2015 and his growth trajectory has since then become the stuff of legends. He broke the club record as the youngest player to play for the club, the youngest scorer and youngest player in the history of the French Ligue 1 to score 15 league goals. Last season, he scored 26 goals and created 14 more in 44 matches as the principality club won the league and reached the Champions League semi-finals. The young French striker was a vital part of the improbable success they achieved.
PSG signed him on a season-long loan at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, the second arrival of a busy transfer window for the Parc des Princes outfit after the high profile signing of Neymar. The option in the loan contract is the obligation to buy Mbappe for a mammoth £166 million at the end of the season, which would be the second most expensive transfer fee of all time.
He was linked to Real Madrid too, but the Spanish giants couldn’t assure him of playing every week, which Unai Emery is doing to great effect at the moment. Mbappe has been a success at the club, scoring 14 times and creating 13 more in just 25 matches, proving his quality alongside his band of attacking teammates Edinson Cavani and Neymar.
Despite not playing in his favourite position up front, he has made merry at the right flank while putting the likes of Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore, Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria out of the starting 11. At his age, Mbappe is looking like a boy who is ready to reach the very top of world football.
He is on the right path and there is no better chance to show how far he has come by doing well against Real Madrid in the Champions League next month. They know him at the Bernabeu and they will be wary of his display. Marcelo and Co. would be relieved in case he misses out.
