- Kylian Mbappe was a huge fan of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo as a boy
- He grew up with his room covered in dozens of photos of the Portuguese star
- On Saturday, he scored twice for France to knock Lionel Messi out of World Cup
At 14 years old, Kylian Mbappe was just a boy dreaming about his hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Saturday, he put in a masterclass performance to knock out Ronaldo’s biggest rival, Lionel Messi, before his Portuguese idol also fell at the last-16 later that evening.
After two goals against Argentina, Mbappe finds himself progressing further than either of the world’s greatest players, but once upon a time he was just a boy living in a shrine to Ronaldo.
Mbappe’s father Wilfried has previously spoken of his son’s admiration for Ronaldo.
‘He is a Real Madrid fan and his idol is Cristiano Ronaldo,’ he told France Football two years ago.
‘He used to spend hours watching videos [of Ronaldo] on the internet.’
Mbappe will now face the challenge of helping France beat Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-final.
He will come up against two more world-class strikers in Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani as he looks to add to his three goals so far, having put himself in the race for the Golden Boot.
MAIL.UK
Be the first to comment