Pele comparison incredible, but I’m my own man: Mbappe

PARIS — It is 10.30am in the Carre, the plush VIP area at Paris St-Germain’s stadium and a VVIP arrives, in a tailored, dark suit. It is the new prince of the Parc des Princes.

Kylian Mbappe is still just 18. Two summers ago he was celebrating passing his French high school exams, insisting he completed them before furthering his football career; last season he was being driven to training by his mother, Fayza, a former handball player — he did not have time to finish his own driving lessons because “things got a bit complicated”.

They did indeed get complicated. Now he is the world’s most expensive teenager after an extraordinary €180 million (S$290 million) transfer from Monaco, and the second most expensive footballer ever, after his new team-mate Neymar, who also arrived this summer, for €222 million from Barcelona. Along with Edinson Cavani, they are poised to create the most thrilling new forward line in football.

But it is Mbappe who is the hottest new property in the game despite, as he readily admits, having had “only six months playing at the highest level” following his remarkable breakthrough at Monaco.

And yet when he speaks, Mbappe is remarkably mature, articulate and level-headed. He quickly and confidently covers a range of topics, including:

• Why he has “come home” to PSG.

• What it has been like to live with the “Mbappe soap opera”.

• How joining Arsenal had been a “real option” after he met Arsene Wenger.

• How spending time at Chelsea when he was 11 — playing alongside Tammy Abraham — gave him the hunger to be a top footballer.

Only one inquiry is deemed off-limits: How many big clubs tried to sign him this summer? “No comment — I will play the joker on that one,” he replies, with a broad smile. The answer is simple, though — they all did.

“I am a very, very lucky player, a privileged player,” says Mbappe. “And I am over the moon right now. I sit here with a real sense of pride. I have worked hard and been rewarded for it but that is only an incentive to work even harder. If I work even harder then I can go even higher. Where will I be? That is my source of motivation.”

There has been some cynicism as to why Mbappe made the move — a highly unusual, season-long loan, presumably to comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules. There is a binding option to buy next July for €145 million plus add-ons. But he is adamant that “only one club was able to get me and that club was Paris St-Germain”.

Mbappe is a Parisian, and a PSG fan. He grew up in the northern suburbs, in Bondy, and after his formal unveiling, he travels for another engagement back at the local club where it all started when he was six years old — AS Bondy. He has maintained his links, not least because his father, originally from Cameroon, still coaches there.

“Being here is like going back home for me,” he says of PSG. “I used to come to this stadium when I was a boy to watch games. I was a football fan, a kid who loved football, and when you are a kid from Paris there are only two stadiums — the Stade de France or the Parc de Princes — and that is what makes Paris so special.”

As a boy, Mbappe was soon in demand. At 11, Chelsea invited him for a week to train and spend time at the club. “It was a wonderful experience,” says Mbappe. Chelsea was the first great club, the first big club, that I went to visit. So it was a real discovery for me.”

He played a match for Chelsea under-12s, where he was partnered in attack with Abraham, who is on loan from Chelsea at Swansea City. Jeremie Boga, a French midfielder also still at Chelsea, and out on loan at Birmingham City, was also in the team.

Soon Real Madrid came calling, and he met Zinedine Zidane and trained with the Under-15s. There was also interest from Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and every Ligue 1 side but, aged 15 and after his two years at Clairefontaine — the French national training centre — he eventually chose Monaco, believing, with a rare maturity, it was the best place for him to develop his career.

In December 2015, Mbappe became Monaco’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 347 days, beating the record set by Thierry Henry — with whom he is so often compared — and then, aged 17 years and 63 days, he became their youngest-ever scorer.

He signed his first professional contract and then, last December, it all took off with his first hat-trick and a remarkable run as he led Monaco to the French title and the semi-finals of the Champions League, scoring six times in the knock-out stages. In all, Mbappe plundered 26 goals, became a French international and was hailed as the future of his country’s football.

Once more, the world came calling, although even then his plan was to remain at Monaco. Winning the Champions League is the goal, and he turned down more money from other clubs to join them. But what changed at Monaco? Mbappe says it is not the time to discuss that but it could have been his unwillingness to sign a new contract and Monaco’s fear that he might then leave next year for less money.

Arsenal were among his strongest suitors. He adds: “Arsene Wender has a great reputation here in France, he’s well respected and knows how to develop young players. This was a real option for me. But, of course, Paris St-Germain was the main option. We weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of all the clubs but my family told me it had to be my decision ... I decided to come here in order to develop.”

But Wenger made an amazing comparison after their talks. “It’s really incredible to be compared to a player like ‘King Pele’, who is the King of Football,” Mbappe says of the Brazilian. “But what I must think about is working hard and following my own pathway and not thinking about people who compare you to other players.”

Mbappe is adamant he will remain grounded, and he certainly appears to be, despite the astonishing level of interest in him. He even refers to it as the “Mbappe soap opera” given the clamour for stories and information.

“I have always had that passion for the game and it actually helps me manage some situations, some delicate situations,” says Mbappe. “That love of the game means that when I enter the pitch I can get rid of all the pressure, all the environment and this helps me every time.

“I have always remained myself and that is why I am where I am today. I am aware of the risk with all the media attention, all the glitz and glamour around football. That was the only piece of advice my father gave me about my future — to stay myself. I know where I come from.”

And where he is going.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Top 10 most expensive football transfers

1 Neymar, Barcelona - PSG (2017), €222m

2 Kylian Mbappe, Monaco - PSG (2017), €145m (+€35m bonuses)

3 Ousmane Dembele, Dortmund - Borussia Dortmund (2017), €105m (+€45m)

3 Paul Pogba, Juventus - Manchester United (2016), €105m

5 Gareth Bale, Tottenham - Real Madrid (2013), €100.8m

6 Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United - Real Madrid (2009), €94m

7 Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli - Juventus (2016), €90m

8 Neymar, Santos - Barcelona (2013), €86.2m

9 Romelu Lukaku, Everton - Manchester United (2017), €84.8m

10 Luis Suarez, Liverpool - Barcelona (2014), €82.3m