"He was Portuguese in his head" - Kylian Mbappe's mother recalls Real Madrid star's admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo in his childhood

Kylian Mbappe's mother, Fayza Lamari, has revealed that the Real Madrid star was a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo while growing up. Speaking to L'Equipe, via Goal, Lamari mentioned that the level of Mbappe's obsession with Ronaldo was such that he even considered himself to be 'Portuguese in his head'.

"It started with [Zinedine] Zidane. From the age of four. Then there was Cristiano Ronaldo when he arrived in Manchester, and then at Real. Then there was Robinho, Ronaldinho…As for Cristiano Ronaldo…, Kylian was Portuguese in his head. For him, he was Portuguese. He would go to a friend's father's house to watch Portugal matches and support Ronaldo. He was in love. He said, 'I'm Portuguese,'" said Mbappe's mother, Fayza Lamari.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for the Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, is a Real Madrid legend. Between 2009 and 2018, the Portuguese magnifico scored an impressive 450 goals in 438 appearances for the club. He also won two LaLiga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies, among other honours.

Mbappe fulfilled a childhood dream when he secured a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. He went on to have a stellar debut season for Los Blancos under Carlo Ancelotti, scoring 43 goals in 56 appearances across all competitions, along with setting his teammates up with five assists.

Kylian Mbappe won the Pichichi Trophy while playing for Real Madrid in 2024-25

In the 2024-25 LaLiga season, Mbappe found the back of the net on 31 occasions in 34 appearances and won the Pichichi Trophy, given to the top scorer of the Spanish top flight every season by Marca. However, he was unsuccessful in leading the team to a trophy in his maiden season, as Madrid finished second in the league standings.

Los Blancos were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League as well, and finished runners-up to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. In the ongoing league season, Madrid's sole aim will be to reclaim their LaLiga title, for which they have also appointed Xabi Alonso as their new head coach.

Madrid have started the new season on a good note, and currently sit on top of the league table with three wins in as many matches. They have scored six goals already in this campaign, and conceded just one. Mbappe has been in fine nick too, bagging three goals already in LaLiga. In the international break, he scored two goals for France, one each against Ukraine and Iceland.