Early life

Kylian Mbappé was born in Paris and grew up in Bondy, one of the Parisian suburbs (banlieues) with working-class, mostly immigrant residents. His mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian descent, and his father, Wilfried Mbappé, had immigrated from Cameroon. Wilfried Mbappé was a coach and director for the local club AS Bondy, and his son joined the club’s youth teams at age six. Kylian Mbappé quickly became known for his exceptional speed and ball handling, and, several years later, he was selected to train at Clairefontaine, France’s national academy for elite football players. He spent two years there, and a number of notable European clubs—among them Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)—expressed an interest in signing him.