Monaco's Kylian Mbappe Is Already a Galactico, in His Own Way

The image is already a pertinent one—a smiling 14-year-old sat on his bed in the family home, holding up an AS Monaco shirt with his name printed on the back (via France Football). The shirt and the boy should be the centrepiece of the photograph, but they're not.

What's notable is that the young Kylian Mbappe is surrounded by posters on his walls, dutifully unfolded from magazines and Blu-Tacked up, all of the same man; his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. It's hardly surprising, then, that there seems to be a rare, inexorable quality to the stories linking Mbappe with an imminent, potentially record-busting move to Real Madrid to join his hero (per L'Equipe).

Whether he fulfils that presumed destiny this summer or not, there is little doubt that—having only turned 18 five days before Christmas—Mbappe is already a galactico in his own right. The numbers say plenty and are worth repeating, with 24 goals from 24 starts in all competitions this season representative of a player who is one for now, rather than just for the future.

Yet mere figures don't do justice to just how special Mbappe already is. It's not just his skill set on the field that impresses—where his goals are complemented by his pace, intelligence, strength and sanguinity—but his composed manner off it.

"Everyone in France is very excited about Mbappe," Matt Spiro, the presenter of The Ligue 1 Show, told Bleacher Report. "First and foremost because of his performances, which have been sensational, but also because he appears to be a very personable, intelligent and grounded young man.

"France has had its share of problems with badly behaved players creating a negative image, and there is real hope that Mbappe will not only be the country's next star but also a good guy that the country can identify with and be proud of."

Already, Mbappe's qualities have struck a chord with supporters beyond the Stade Louis II. It feels as if he belongs to France, not just Monaco. Spiro added: "The standing ovations he received recently from away crowds at Lyon and at Caen show how well the French public has taken to him."

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There is the suspicion that Mbappe has taken this ostensibly overnight success in his stride because it was always meant to be like this. He can't remember a life without football, having started playing for his local club, AS Bondy, in the north-eastern outskirts of Paris, when he was four. "I spent my entire childhood there," he told this column.

Mbappe's father, Wilfried, was a coach there—according to Kylian, he was initially reluctant to let him play—and his older brother played there.

"I was always there at the side of the pitch with a ball at my feet," he said, "and then one day the president of the club saw me hanging around by the pitch. He said, 'come with me', and in the changing rooms he gave me a jersey and a pair of shorts. I didn't have proper boots yet—I just had trainers on—and I went out on to the pitch to play."

The link remains, with his younger brother still playing there now, but when the time came to fly the nest, the 14-year-old Mbappe had no doubts.

"It wasn't difficult," he told UEFA Champions League Weekly. "At the weekends, I was in Bondy, but other than that I was at Clairefontaine (France's national football centre), and that prepared me a little bit for Monaco. I knew what I'd always wanted, which was to join a youth academy."

The path was a clear one to him. His adopted brother, Jires Kembo-Ekoko—11 years Kylian's senior—made it through the same route of Bondy and Clairefontaine to the academy at Rennes, and eventually to the first team. He now plies his trade in the Middle East, where he has been since 2012,  with Al Nasr.

When he was coming through the academy system, Mbappe "was always with me," Kembo-Ekoko told France Football. The professional game, to Mbappe, was an achievable reality rather than a childhood daydream.

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So really, there is nothing overnight about Mbappe's success which is why, one expects, he will not look out of his depth when the Champions League semi-final first leg against Juventus gets underway on Wednesday night.

"He has looked totally home at the very highest level," Spiro said. "It was a huge decision from (coach Leonardo) Jardim to hand him his full Champions League debut away to Manchester City, but Mbappe was far from overwhelmed, taking the occasion in his stride and looking the part throughout.

"His calmness in front of goal and the obvious confidence he has in his own ability are quite astonishing for somebody so young."

While calm and collected, Mbappe clearly feels something special in experiencing the Champions League. In the club's hilltop training centre at La Turbie last week, his eyes lit up when talking about that game at Manchester City, and about "hearing the music as we walked out on to the pitch."

He may be supremely confident in his ability but he pores over the competition like the fan he still is. "Even now I still watch all the Champions League games," he said with a smile.

The staff at La Turbie told us that Mbappe has an encyclopedic knowledge of all the players and all the other teams involved.  

Those staff, and everyone at Monaco, are savouring every moment of Mbappe that they can, knowing that it's when, rather than if, he moves on to the top of the game. The hope that he can stay for one more season is shared nationally, with L'Equipe’s cover last Tuesday imploring him not to go (see below tweet, via Made In Foot).

And there is still hope. "Monaco are determined to keep him and Mbappe would like to play a full season in Ligue 1, and I believe he will be encouraged to stay at least one more season,” Spiro said, "but, of course, if Monaco receive a world-record bid for him, they will probably give it due consideration. Mbappe's huge ambition means he'd not put up much resistance if one of Europe's biggest teams were after him."

Even with that wisdom beyond his years, it is clear that Mbappe would be sorely tempted if one team in particular made him an offer—the day will come. The moment when he supplants Cristiano Ronaldo as the poster on bedroom walls is already very close.

All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise indicated.