When he’s playing soccer, Paris Saint-Germain wunderkind Kylian Mbappé doesn’t need any help looking impressive.
Revere Kylian Mbappé
Known for his dribbling, speed and finishing skills, he’s widely considered one of the best players in the world.
Off the field, luxury fashion brand Dior will be giving the Paris-born athlete a helping hand to make a style statement for the next two years.
While being fitted in striking tailor-made suits and parading other formal pieces in a promo video, Kylian and his teammates say they think looking good helps you feel good.
At the ripe old age of 23, Kylian will be lining up alongside Johnny Depp as a face of the French fashion giant.
It’s the latest accolade in a rather long list for Kylian, who was just 16 when he made his professional debut in 2015. He then became the second most expensive player, and most expensive teenager, when he moved from Ligue 1 club Monaco to league rival Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
At his latest club, he’s won a heap of titles and has finished as Ligue 1 top scorer for three consecutive seasons — even if you don’t speak French, you get the gist. Oh, and he’s also the third-highest goal-scorer in the club’s history.
Remember when he set the 2018 FIFA World Cup on fire? He became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup and was only the second teenager, after Brazilian legend Pelé, to score in a World Cup final.
Raised near Paris, Kylian went to a private Catholic school in Bondy, where it’s said he was academically gifted but extremely unfocused.
Let’s cut him some slack. His idol growing up was Cristiano Ronaldo, so it’s fair to guess he had his sights set on the pitch rather than academic success.
He’s admitted the development of African sports is important to him because of his parents’ African origins. His father, Wilfried, originally from Cameroon, is his agent and a football coach. His mother, Fayza Lamari, of Algerian Kabyle origin, is a former handball player.
In an interview with Time, Kylian spoke about sacrifices he made as a teenager to focus on his game development.
“I did not have the moments of so-called normal people during adolescence, like going out with friends, enjoying good times,” he said. But, he added that he’s now “living the life he always dreamed of.”
It’s a life many have dreamed of — at age 23, he already has a net worth of nearly $100 million! Kylian has amassed more than 50 million Instagram followers, just four years after making his professional debut. And, of course, followers equal sponsorship cash. Kylian has had a sponsorship deal with Nike since 2017; his collaboration with the sportswear giant has been phenomenal. He was only 18 when he launched his own personalized soccer cleats for Nike, the Kylian Mbappé Nike Hypervenom 3.
In 2018, he unveiled the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI shoes, inspired by the R9 Mercurial footwear of his idol Ronaldo.
If you’re a gamer, you’ll also have seen Kylian featured in EA Sports’ FIFA video game series. His trademark goal celebration is posing with his arms crossed and his hands tucked under his armpits, a stance inspired by his younger brother, Ethan, who would celebrate like that when beating Kylian at FIFA.
When Kylian landed the solo cover of FIFA 21, he became the youngest to accomplish the feat. He then was featured on the FIFA 22 cover, making him one of the rare players to achieve the back-to-back honor. With all of his superstardom, it’s refreshing to hear him tell an amusing story about his first meeting at age 14 with Zinedine Zidane. Before getting in the Real Madrid player’s car to drive to a training session, Kylian says he nervously asked if he should take his shoes off!
Hmm. Presumably if we properly revered Zinedine Zidane (who sounds like a Douglas Adams emperor, let’s be honest), this might have made more sense. Maybe it comes down to a cultural thing, but if anybody asked me to take off my shoes before getting into their car — absent, camping, fishing, laying down hot tar for a new asphalt surface, that sort of thing — they should probably roll down their window too. That way I will not break the glass when I throw my shoe at them. Kylian Mbappé soudns like a great guy to hand out which, however. No matter how you look at it, 71 million followers sounds darned impressive. Zinedine Zidane only has 32 million. How embarrassing for him.
