Mbappé began his career at AS Bondy, coached by his father, Wilfried. Another of his youth coaches at AS Bondy, Antonio Riccardi, stated,
The first time I coached him was when he was six years old. You could tell he was different. Kylian could do much more than the other children. His dribbling was already fantastic and he was much faster than the others. He was the best player I've ever seen in 15 years coaching here. In Paris, there are many talents but I'd never seen a talent like him. He was what we call a 'crack' (the best).[20]
Eventually, he moved to the Clairefontaine academy, putting on a host of impressive performances leading to numerous French clubs, and Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, attempting to sign him.[9] At the age of 11, Real Madrid invited Mbappé to train with their under-12s and visit the club's facilities.[21] At age 14 he travelled to London after an invite from Chelsea, playing a match for their youth team against Charlton Athletic.[22] He ultimately settled on Monaco.[23]
Monaco
2015–16: Development
In October 2015, Mbappé was brought in by Leonardo Jardim to be a mainstay in Monaco's B-team but his level of skill and maturity prompted his promotion to the main squad after just three weeks.[24] He made his first team debut two months later on 2 December 2015 in a 1–1 Ligue 1 home draw against Caen, replacing Fábio Coentrão after 88 minutes. He therefore became Monaco's youngest-ever first-team player aged 16 years and 347 days, breaking Thierry Henry's record set 21 years previously.[23][25]
On 20 February 2016, Mbappé scored his first goal for the club's first team, a stoppage-time goal in a home Ligue 1 3–1 win over Troyes; at the age of 17 years and 62 days, he became the youngest first team goalscorer in Monaco's history—once again displacing Henry in the process.[26][27] On 6 March 2016, Mbappé signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal, tying him to Monaco until June 2019.[28] In an interview with CNN, Vadim Vasilyev, AS Monaco's vice-president, who played a key role in Mbappé signing his first professional contract with the Ligue 1 club, stated that he knew early on that Mbappé was a "phenomenon."[29]
2016–17: Breakthrough and league title
Mbappé scored the first hat-trick of his first team career on 14 December 2016 in the 7–0 rout of Rennes in the Coupe de la Ligue round of 16 at the Stade Louis II[25][30] – the first hat-trick scored by any Monaco player in the competition since Sonny Anderson in 1997.[31]
On 11 February 2017, Mbappé scored the first Ligue 1 hat-trick of his career in the 5–0 home win over Metz; at 18 years and two months he became the youngest player to score a Ligue 1 hat-trick since Jérémy Ménez did it for Sochaux back in 2005.[32]
On 21 February, Mbappé scored Monaco's second goal in the 40th minute with a half-volley after receiving Fabinho's long ball over the opponents' back line (it was his first ever UEFA Europa League or UEFA Champions League goal and he became the second youngest French scorer in UEFA Champions League history behind Karim Benzema) in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Manchester City, which Monaco lost 5–3.[33][34] On 5 March, Mbappé scored two first-half goals in the 4–0 Ligue 1 home win over Nantes to bring his Ligue 1 career tally to ten goals and become the youngest player in the last 30 years to hit the Ligue 1 ten-career-goals mark. His brace against Nantes on 5 March brought up his 2016–17 season tally to nine Ligue 1 goals and five Ligue 1 assists in just 822 minutes of Ligue 1 football.[35][36] On 11 March, he scored a goal in the 2–1 Ligue 1 home win against Bordeaux to register his seventh Ligue 1 goal in his last four starts.[37]
In the UEFA Champions League round of 16-second leg match at the Stade Louis II on 15 March, he made the score 1–0 for Monaco in the 8th minute by turning home Bernardo Silva's low cross from close-range (his 11th goal in his past 11 matches in all competitions) to help Monaco beat Manchester City 3–1 (aggregate score 6–6) and advance to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.[38] In the quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund, Mbappé won a penalty and scored two goals as Monaco won the away leg 3–2.[39] In the second leg, Mbappé opened the scoring as Monaco won 3–1 and advanced to the semi-finals.[40] Monaco were eliminated from the Champions League 4–1 on aggregate by Juventus, with Mbappé scoring Monaco's lone goal in the second leg.[41] Mbappé ended the 2016–17 season with 26 goals from 44 matches in all competitions as Monaco won the Ligue 1 title.[42]
Mbappé credited fellow striker at Monaco Radamel Falcao as a key influence on him throughout the season, giving him the space to express himself, teaching him to be "calm" and "serene" during the game, traits which Mbappé noted he lacked.[43]
Paris Saint-Germain
2017–18: World record transfer and treble
On 31 August 2017, Paris Saint-Germain announced the signing of Mbappé from Monaco on loan.[44] Part of the tipping point was a convincing speech by then-Paris coach Unai Emery at the Mbappés' home in the summer, when Zidane was not guaranteeing the youngster a starting spot at Real Madrid (fresh from their 12th Champions League triumph) with an attacking trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. PSG scout Luis Ferrer told Le Parisien: "I remember how strong Unai was, how good! He gave his word to Kylian that he would play with him. And he kept his promise. Kylian wasn't quite ready for a Champions League game but Unai had committed, so he played him anyway. One night I got back to Paris at 10:30 p.m. When I arrived, I called Antero [Henrique, PSG sporting director] to give him an update and he was surprised that I hadn't stayed in the south. The next day, at six o'clock, I took the first flight. Two hours later I rang the doorbell of the Mbappés with croissants."[45][46]
He explained for Argentine media outlet Infobae: "We had to work twice as hard as Real Madrid. We went to his house to talk to his parents and sell them our project. We had to do a lot to show him that we really wanted him, that he would be important to us," Ferrer stressed.[47][48] Mbappé wanted to find a prestigious club where he could be sure of a starting place, with the World Cup just a year away. The fee required for a subsequent full transfer was set at a rumoured €145 million plus €35 million in add-ons, making him the most expensive teenager ever, the most expensive transfer ever within a domestic league, and potentially the second most expensive player ever, behind teammate Neymar.[49][50][51][52] He was handed the number 29 shirt upon arrival in the French capital.[53]
Mbappé scored on his debut on 8 September in a 5–1 Ligue 1 win at Metz, in which Benoît Assou-Ekotto was sent off for fouling him.[54] Four days later, Mbappé recorded his first European goal for Les Parisiens in a 5–0 UEFA Champions League group stage away defeat of Celtic.[55] He starred in PSG's 3–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the second group game of the Champions League, setting up goals for Edinson Cavani and Neymar, the latter seeing him taking out a defender with a feint by rolling the ball under his foot.[56] On 6 December, Mbappé scored his 10th Champions League goal in a 3–1 defeat to Bayern Munich and became the youngest player to reach that mark at the age of 18 years and 11 months.[57] Having won his first league title with the club, on 8 May 2018, Mbappé played as PSG won 2–0 against Les Herbiers to clinch the 2017–18 Coupe de France.[58]
2018–19: Ligue 1 Player of the Year
In July 2018, Mbappé was given the number 7 jersey for the upcoming season with PSG, taking up the squad number vacated by Lucas Moura.[59] Sporting the hashtag #K7LIAN, Mbappé stated, "I keep trying to progress on the pitch and I think that, for me, it was the right time to change number. It is something of an affirmation. The No. 7 shirt is a legendary one and many greats have worn it. I hope that I will be able to do this number justice on the pitch."[59]
In his first appearance of the season, Mbappé scored twice in the last 10 minutes as PSG won 3–1 against Guingamp in Ligue 1.[60] In the following league game, the front three of Mbappé, Cavani and Neymar all scored in a 3–1 win over Angers at home, with Mbappé – starting his first game of the season – scoring from a volley and setting up Neymar to score the third.[61] On 1 September, he scored and assisted in a 4–2 away win over Nîmes, but was sent off for the first time in his career with a straight red card in injury time, after shoving Téji Savanier in retaliation for a late challenge from behind, for which Savanier was also sent off.[62] Regarding his sending-off, Mbappé told reporters after the match, "If I had the chance to do it over again, I would do the same thing. I will apologise to the supporters and everybody, but I cannot tolerate this sort of thing."[63] On 8 October, Mbappé scored four goals in just 13 minutes in a 5–0 home victory over Lyon and became the youngest player (19 years and 9 months) to score four goals in one game in Ligue 1 over the last 45 seasons.[64] On 3 December, Mbappé was the inaugural winner of the Kopa Trophy, which is awarded by France Football to the best player in the world under the age of 21.[65]
On 19 January 2019, Mbappé was one of two players (the other being Cavani) to score a hat-trick in a 9–0 win over Guingamp, breaking a record PSG set the previous season.[66] On 12 February, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League round of 16.[67] On 2 March, he scored twice in a 2–1 away win over Caen to reach his 50th goal with the club.[68] On 6 March, PSG lost 3–1 at home against Manchester United, to be knocked out from the Champions League on the away goals rule.[69]
On 21 April, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Monaco, to be his first goals against his former club.[70] PSG finished the season as Ligue 1 champions,[71] with Mbappé winning the Player of the Year award,[72] while also finishing the season as the top goalscorer with 33 goals.[71]
2020–21: Third time top scorer
On 3 August, Mbappé scored in a 2–1 win over Rennes to capture his first title of the 2019–20 season, the 2019 Trophée des Champions.[73] He then scored again in PSG's opening Ligue 1 match of the season, a 3–0 home win over Nîmes on 11 August.[74] On 22 October, he came off the bench and scored a perfect hat-trick,[75] in a 5–0 away win over Belgian side Club Brugge in the Champions League; at the age of 20 years and 306 days, he became the youngest player ever to score at least 15 goals in the competition.[76]
On 1 May 2020, PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions after the season had been called off amid the COVID-19 pandemic; at the time of the League's premature suspension, PSG were in first place, with a twelve–point lead over second–placed Marseille.[77][78] Mbappé finished the 2019–20 season as joint-top scorer in Ligue 1 with 18 goals, along with Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder. However, Mbappé was assigned the title of top scorer due to his superior goals per game ratio.[79] On 24 July, in the 2020 Coupe de France Final against Saint-Étienne, Mbappé was forced off after sustaining an injury following a challenge from Loïc Perrin, who was sent off; PSG won the match 1–0,[80] although Mbappé was ruled out of the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final,[81] which PSG went on to win, completing a domestic treble.[82] He returned to action in the Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta on 12 August, coming on a substitute, and assisting Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's match–winning goal in injury time.[83] PSG eventually lost out in the 2020 Champions League Final 1–0 to Bayern Munich on 23 August.[84]
2020–21: Third time top scorer
Mbappé missed the first three matches of the season after contracting COVID-19 while playing with the France national team.[85] He returned to action on 20 September 2020 in a 3–0 away win against Nice, and scored a goal from a penalty kick.[86] On 28 October, Mbappé recorded two assists, both for Moise Kean, in a 2–0 Champions League group stage victory against İstanbul Başakşehir.[87] In doing so, he became the player with the most assists in the competition since the beginning of the 2017–18 edition, with his tally adding up to fourteen over the four seasons.[88] In a Ligue 1 match against Montpellier on 5 December, Mbappé scored his 100th goal for PSG, becoming only the fifth player to achieve the feat for the Parisian club.[89] In his side's final Champions League group match, Mbappé scored his first two goals of the European campaign against Başakşehir, as PSG won 5–1 and qualified for the knockout phase as group winners.[90] He also became the youngest player in Champions League history to reach twenty goals (although this record would then be surpassed later on in the same season by Erling Haaland).[91][92]
On 16 February 2021, Mbappé became only the third player, after Faustino Asprilla and Andriy Shevchenko, to score a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona, doing so in PSG's 4–1 round of 16 win at the Camp Nou.[93] Mbappé's hat-trick also saw him overtake Pauleta's total of 109 goals to become PSG's third-highest scorer, with only Cavani (200 goals) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (156 goals) getting more for the club.[94] On 27 February, Mbappé scored twice in a 4–0 away win against Dijon, becoming the first player to score five braces in the Ligue 1 season.[95] In the second leg against Barcelona on 10 March, Mbappé scored from the spot in a 1–1 draw at the Parc de Princes, as his side advanced to the quarter-finals 5–2 on aggregate.[96] Mbappé's penalty was his 25th Champions League goal, surpassing opponent Lionel Messi as the youngest player to reach this milestone, aged 22 years and 80 days. Adding to his hat-trick from the first leg, Mbappé additionally became the first player to score four goals against Barcelona in a single Champions League season.[97]
In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich on 7 April, Mbappé scored two goals, helping his team to a 3–2 victory at the Allianz Arena, a first victory for PSG in Munich since 1994.[98] PSG later progressed to the semi-finals to be eventually eliminated by Manchester City, in which he missed the second leg due to a calf injury.[99] On 17 May, Mbappé scored his 40th goal of the season in a 4–0 league win over Reims, making it his most-prolific season to date and hitting the forty goal mark for the first time in his career.[100] Three days later, Mbappé scored once and assisted the second in the Coupe de France Final against his former club Monaco as PSG won 2–0 to claim their first major trophy of the season.[101] He ended the Ligue 1 campaign with 27 goals, to become the top scorer for the third consecutive season but PSG missed out on the league title – it was the first time in Mbappé's career where he did not win Ligue 1 after four consecutive successes.[102][103] Mbappé ended the season with the Ligue 1 Player of The Year Award and featured in the Ligue 1 Team of The Season.[104]
On 14 August 2021, prior to Paris Saint-Germain's opening home match of the 2021–22 season against Strasbourg, Mbappé was booed by the Parc des Princes amidst rumours that he wanted to sign for Spanish club Real Madrid.[105] The match ended in a 4–2 victory for the Parisians, with Mbappé setting up three of his team's goals.[106] He scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 away win against Brest six days later.[107] The following match against Reims on 29 August, in which Lionel Messi notably made his debut for PSG, ended in a 2–0 Rouge-et-Bleu victory thanks to two Mbappé goals.[108] On 24 November, Mbappé scored in 2–1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium.[109] On 7 December, he scored two goals in a 4–1 Champions League home win over Club Brugge. The goals, which were his 30th and 31st in the Champions League, made him the youngest player to reach this milestone in the history of the competition.[110]
On 12 December 2021, Mbappé scored twice against Monaco in Ligue 1 to reach a century of league goals for PSG. At 22 years and 357 days old, he became the youngest player to score 100 goals for a single team in the French top-flight since Opta began recording data in the 1950–51 season.[111] On 3 January 2022, Mbappé scored his first hat-trick of the season in a 4–0 Coupe de France win over Vannes.[112] On 11 February, he scored the winning goal in stoppage time in a 1–0 league win over Rennes, a feat he repeated four days later in a 1–0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16.[113][114] He scored another goal in the second leg, making him the second-highest goalscorer in Paris Saint-Germain's history, but saw his team knocked out following a 3–1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[115][116]
On 21 May 2022, Mbappé extended his contract with PSG until 2025,[118] despite speculations of a possible transfer to Real Madrid,[119] which prompted La Liga officials to file a complaint to UEFA regarding accumulating losses of PSG in the previous years.[120] Mbappé himself called and spoke to Real Madrid's president Florentino Pérez, during which he told him that he would not be signing for Real Madrid.[121] According to Sky Sports, the financial details of Mbappé's contract include a monthly wage of £4 million, making him the highest-paid player in the world.[122] Mbappé and PSG also reportedly secured a signing-on figure in the region of £100 million.[122] In the hours following Mbappé's contract extension, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Metz, to finish the season with 28 goals as top scorer for the fourth consecutive season.[123] He became the third player to finish as Ligue 1 top scorer four seasons in a row. Mbappé also provided 17 assists in the season, becoming the first player to finish as both top scorer and top assist provider in Ligue 1 history.[124][125]
2022–23 season
On 13 August 2022, Mbappé scored his first goal of the season for PSG in a 5–2 home victory over Montpellier, after having missed a penalty earlier in the match.[126] Eight days later, he scored his first hat-trick of the season in a 7–1 away win over Lille.[127] His first goal in the match was clocked at eight seconds, making it the second-fastest goal ever scored in Ligue 1 history, tenths of seconds later than Michel Rio's goal for Guingamp against Caen in 1992.[128] On 6 September, Mbappé scored a brace in PSG's opening Champions League fixture against Juventus, securing a 2–1 home victory for the Parisians.[129] On 11 October, he scored a penalty in a 1–1 Champions League draw at home to Benfica, becoming the leading goalscorer for PSG in European competitions with 31 goals.[130]