Kylian Mbappe, the French hero who became the first teenager to score a brace in a knockout game of the World Cup and score in a World Cup final since Pele, is quite a special young player.
Kylian Mbappe, the French hero who became the first teenager to score a brace in a knockout game of the World Cup and score in a World Cup final since Pele, is quite a special young player.
And the teenager, who plays for PSG is also donating his entire World Cup match fees to charity. He has earned $29,000 per game (plus $350,000 for winning the World Cup). The total amount comes up to $5,53,000 or Rs 3.79 crore, which he will donate to charity.
He is already being compared to Messi and Ronaldo, and already has a better scoring record than both of them.
When teenager Kylian Mbappe netted France’s fourth goal in the World Cup final, thoughts turned to the possibility that the French could go on to emulate the dominant Brazilian teams led by their great striker Pele.
The 19-year-old Mbappe became only the second teenager after Pele to score in a World Cup final as a talent-laden French side overcame resilient Croatia 4-2 to win the sport’s top prize for the second time, 20 years after their first triumph.
Pele did it at the age of 17 in 1958, sparking a period of dominance as Brazil won three World Cups in a 12-year period culminating in a one-sided final victory over Italy in 1970.
While there are growing comparisons between Mbappe and Pele, the Parisian still has a long way to go to even come close to matching the achievements of the great Brazilian.
But the precocious Mbappe could be one of the pillars of a French team with the potential to dominate the world game in the way Pele and his team mates did from the late 50s through to 1970.
Alongside Antoine Griezmann, voted man of the match in Sunday’s final in Moscow, in attack, with Paul Pogba in the midfield engine room and the powerful Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane in defence, France have a firm foundation to build on.
Their World Cup squad had an average age of just over 26 and they have an abundance of world-class players but the way the team negotiated the tournament with intelligence and fortitude gives even greater cause for optimism for the future.
With inputs from Reuters
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