Player profile

Style of play and reception

Mbappé's movement has been compared to former forwards Thierry Henry and Ronaldo

Mbappé has been described by Arsène Wenger as a "huge football talent" who "has similarities to
Thierry Henry".[93] His talent and precocious performances for France at the 2018 World Cup also led
him to be compared to Pelé in the media.[94] A versatile forward, Mbappé often plays as a winger, and
is capable of playing on either flank, due to his ability with both feet. [95][96] He is capable of cutting into
the centre onto his stronger right foot from the left wing, and is also capable of creating chances and
providing assists for teammates from the right due to his vision. [97][98][99][100] He is also able to play in
the centre as a main striker, due to his composure, clinical finishing, and eye for goal. [101][102][103][104] A
highly skilful player, Mbappé is also known for his excellent dribbling ability, as well as his explosive
acceleration, agility, quick feet, and creativity when in possession of the ball, as demonstrated by his
use of elaborate feints, such as step overs, or sudden changes of pace or direction to beat
opponents in one on one situations. [105][106][107] In spite of his tall lean frame, he is also an athletic player,
gifted with physical strength. [108]
In addition to his technical skills, Mbappé is also highly regarded for his outstanding pace and close
ball control when dribbling at speed, as well as his excellent movement, tactical intelligence, and
ability to beat the defensive line by making attacking runs into space both on and off the ball; his
ability to time his runs enables him to stretch opposing defences, and also make him a dangerous
offensive threat on counter-attacks.[97][106][109][110][111] In April 2017, former France international Nicolas
Anelka said that Mbappé's ability to run at defences reminded him of Ronaldo of the 1996
Olympics and that Mbappé had the characteristics of a world-class player. [112] Mbappé was named
the fastest player in the world in a ranking by French newspaper Le Figaro.[113] When Stefan de Vrij,
central defender for Inter Milan and the Netherlands, was asked of his toughest opponent, he placed
Mbappé ahead of anyone else, including Mbappé's childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo. [114] In 2018,
Mbappé was considered the world's most expensive player from a transfer value perspective by
the CIES.[115]

Outside football
Personal life
In a 2018 interview with Time, Mbappé spoke about the sacrifices he made as a teenager to focus
on his football development: "I did not have the moments of so-called normal people during
adolescence, like going out with friends, enjoying good times." But despite missing out on a "normal"
life, Mbappé states he is "living the life he always dreamed of". [116] Just over four years after making
his professional debut he has over 42 million Instagram followers.[116] While he admits his "life has
been totally turned upside down" since he first entered the spotlight, he says he is "happy". [116]

Media and sponsorship

Mbappé has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. In 2017, his
prodigious talent saw Nike launch his own personalised football boots at age 18, the Kylian
Mbappé Nike Hypervenom 3.[117] In 2018, he unveiled the Nike Mercurial Superfly VI boots which
were inspired by the R9 Mercurial boots of former Brazilian striker Ronaldo. [118] In 2018, Swiss
watchmaker Hublot signed Mbappé as a global ambassador. [119]
Mbappé features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series: on FIFA 18 he had the highest potential
rating of 94.[120] His trademark goal celebration – posing with his arms folded and hands tucked under
his armpits – was inspired by his younger brother Ethan who would celebrate in this manner when
beating Kylian at FIFA.[121][122] The celebration appears in FIFA 19.[123] Mbappé features as the cover
star of FIFA 21, making him the youngest to appear on the cover solo. [124]

Philanthropy
On 22 February 2018, Mbappé was joined by two of Africa's greatest strikers, former A.C.
Milan forward and current Liberia President George Weah, and former Chelsea and Ivory Coast
forward Didier Drogba, in a meeting with French President Emmanuel
Macron and FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Élysée Palace in Paris that focused on a sports
development project in Africa.[125] Mbappé stated that the development of African sport is important to
him due to his parents' African origins.[126]
On 28 January 2019, Mbappé donated $34,000 (around £26,000) to a crowdfunding campaign to
finance a private search mission to find football player Emiliano Sala, whose light aircraft had gone
missing over the English Channel a week earlier.[127] Later, on 10 February 2019, Mbappé donated a
further £27,000 to the GoFundMe campaign created to fund the search for the plane's still-missing
pilot, David Ibbotson.[128]