Kylian Mbappe: How the French striker became his country’s record goalscorer

Mbappe and his entire family have always had it in mind that they want the striker to reach the pinnacle of the international game. And so ‘Project Mbappe’ was born.

“It was just school and football for Kylian,” his childhood friend Ryan Vyanga said in a BBC Sport documentary called Mbappe. “School, football, home.”

He was born in the Paris suburb of Bondi, five months after France won their first World Cup.

The family flat overlooks the football pitches of AS Bondi, where his father Wilfred was a player-turned-coach.

“Kilian was a step ahead of most players at AS Bondi,” Vianga said. “He was advanced in age and wanted to play with the best. That was his strict rule, to play with the best.”

Laurence added: “He learned La Marseillaise at the age of three in order to prepare to sing it when his first hat came as a child.”

Mbappe – whose mother Faiza Lamari is a former handball player – uploaded pictures of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and looked at an old picture of another Real Madrid star, Zidane.

Although a major influence closer to home was his adopted brother, Gires Kembo Ikoko, who was selected for the French Federation’s national academy in Clairefontaine years before Mbappe himself went there. Ikoko went on to play for Rennes in Ligue 1.

Author and French football expert Matt Spiro told BBC Sport: “Kilian found it very difficult at Clairefontaine at the beginning. He was there for two years and he wasn’t the best in the team in the first year.

“Mbappe plays on the wing and is often in a dark mood.

“He had a growth spurt, I think at the end of his first year in Clairefontaine, and in his second year he was starting to look at the business.”

But its rapid growth is no surprise, after all, even Nike has come calling the 10-year-old free boots.

The forward, who has been followed by Europe’s top clubs since childhood, left his hometown of Paris for the allure of Monaco at the age of 14.

He spent time with Chelsea and Real Madrid but Mbappe’s family were adamant that their son stay in France as a youngster.

At 16 years and 347 days, he became the youngest player in Monaco’s history – breaking the record set by Henry in 1994 – when he came on as a substitute in the 88th minute.

Three months later, he became the club’s youngest goalscorer with his first senior goal against Troyes, beating another record previously held by Henry.

“When he walked into Monaco, you could tell his talent was very special,” Lawrence said. “We had great youth and talent, but he has something a little different.”