It is common knowledge that Kylian Mbappé is a fervent admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo. The famous photo of Mbappé, in his room, surrounded by posters of the Portuguese star on the walls, is well known. As a child, this admiration almost turned into an obsession, to the point of making him cry.....Read The Full Story Here ▶
L’Équipe today reveals an anecdote on this subject, concerning an evening in December 2009 when Mbappé went to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille to watch Ronaldo play. That evening, Olympique de Marseille were facing Real Madrid in the Champions League. Young Kylian, then aged 10, was ecstatic in front of his idol’s double. However, his wish was to get even closer to him. A friend accompanying him managed to sneak into the car park, but came up against closed doors and prohibitions.
Disappointed, Kylian Mbappé then starts to cry. The story finally takes a happy turn, because after a few minutes of waiting, Cristiano Ronaldo appears and agrees to take a photo with him. Friday evening, at 9 p.m., during the quarter-final of Euro 2024 between France and Portugal, this admiration will probably be put aside. We will be faced with one of these mythical back-and-forths in the history of sport that is being prepared.
On one side, Ronaldo, who at 39 could be playing his last major competition with Portugal. Lacking goals, he now shows his doubts, to the point of bursting into tears on Monday evening after missing a penalty against Slovenia in the round of 16. On the other, Mbappé is at a turning point in his career, at 25. After a season marked by trials, criticism and conflicts at Paris SG, where he finished as the club’s top scorer in history, the Parisian is preparing to join Real Madrid.
He himself has long pushed this dream aside but will now follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo, the club’s all-time top scorer. “My turn… Can’t wait to see you light up the Bernabeu,” wrote CR7 on social media when “KM7” was announced in Madrid. Because yes, the Portuguese has known Kylian Mbappé since the Bondy player was 10 years old, when he went to ask him for an autograph after a Real match in Marseille in 2009.
They met again in 2012, for the young prodigy’s visit to the “White House” facilities, in search of his training club. “Kyky” confided to Bild in 2021: “I dreamed of having the same career as Cristiano Ronaldo. When he plays, he brings joy to everyone who watches him, and that has been going on for 15 years. There are rarely footballers like him, and I learned a lot from watching him.” Some will argue that their style has little to do with each other.
Cristiano Ronaldo has built his career on virtuoso dribbling – now much rarer with age -, incredible athletic strength and an ability to score in all circumstances, especially with his head. Kylian Mbappé, on the other hand, has almost never done it with his head, and the last time he tried, he smashed his nose on Kevin Danso’s shoulder against Austria (1-0). He burst onto the professional scene with his astonishing speed, before learning to score from outside the box, so as to “no longer need to dribble” past defenders, he told Prime Video several months ago. On the other hand, the two share an exceptional composure in front of goal, a faculty that has nevertheless been blunted during this Euro.
Mbappé finally managed to score his first goal in a Euro, but on a penalty, against Poland, during the third group match (1-1). For the rest, he piles up the misses and lacks inspiration, hampered in part by the mask that protects his fractured nose. Cristiano Ronaldo, in addition to this famous missed penalty against Slovenia – an exercise that has always been a specialty -, multiplied the sluggish free kicks, the predictable hooks and the harmless strikes. He has an assist for Bruno Fernandes against Turkey (3-0).
