Kylian Mbappe: What we learned from BBC documentary

A new documentary and podcast series tell the story of Kylian Mbappe’s football roots, with anecdotes from childhood friends, fellow footballers, his France manager Didier Deschamps and others.

Since bursting on to the scene with Monaco aged 16, the France forward has often been placed in the same bracket as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says that the first time he saw Mbappe play, he told people “we have Pele here”.

At 25, Mbappe has played in two World Cup finals. As a 19-year-old, he was named best young player at the 2018 tournament – where he also became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, after Pele in 1958.

In 2022, France suffered a narrow loss to Argentina, but Mbappe was heroic – scoring a hat-trick and dragging his team to penalties.

At club level, the Paris St-Germain forward has won seven Ligue 1 titles – the first of those with Monaco – three French Cups and two French League Cups. He will leave his hometown club this summer as their record all-time goalscorer, having netted 256 times in 306 games.

A new BBC film explores the player’s journey from a poor Paris suburb to the heights of sporting greatness.

Contemporaries from his time in youth football share stories about Mbappe’s football obsession. Former Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva remembers his laser focus. Deschamps talks about his captain’s leadership qualities.

Here are a few takeaways from the documentary.