BEN MEMULETIWON
Many say Kylian Mbappe is the new kid on the block. Some say he is the new face of football after he “retired” Lionel Messi and Uruguay stopped the fiery tale of Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese gang.
At 19 Mbappe has featured for two of the topmost clubs in France, AS Monaco and Paris Saint Germain. With his form in Russia, the Cameroun-born player may not stay longer than necessary in Ligue un. His headline performance has placed him in the spotlight as top clubs like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester United are keenly watching. It is just a matter of time for Mbappe to join any of these clubs given the sort of attention he has attracted to himself.
With three goals to his credit in his first ever World Cup and spearheading Les Bleus attack which has landed the team in the last eight, Mbappe no doubt has a brighter future ahead of him especially when his age is considered. But critics are saying, ” let’s slow down a bit on the hype on this chap for now and watch his development after Russia 2018.” They feel that it may just be too early to start seeing him in the class of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Critics add that this was the same way James Rodriguez stole the attention of all and indeed the show at Brazil 2014, scoring six goals which attracted Real Madrid to sign him on. But soon after he was offloaded by the Galacticos to Bayern Munich which has not elevated his status to the class of Leo and Cris or Ney. James was just 21 during the Brazil tournament but so far he has had an impressive outing in Russia leading his team Colombia to the quarterfinal. The future is indeed bright for him.
However, supporters of Mbappe argue that, his style of play is different from James’. Mbappe is quicker and more athletic. He’s got blistering pace with plenty of energy. He is also very forceful during attack which makes him look like a raider when invading the goal area of opponents. These seldom attributes or qualities, they argue, will stand him out and make him one of the deadliest forwards in the sport in years to come.
It is not for nothing that, a senior player in the French team, talking about Paul Pogba, asked the media to stop comparing him with Mbappe as the latter is a much better player than him. If this was a compliment, then, Mbappe has lived the dream so far in Russia, proving that he is no longer a boy but a man in the sport.
He is heading for the top no doubt. As Les Bleus move closer to winning their second World Cup after France ’98, Mbappe could be the hero on whose back France will ride to glory again. He is growing, maturing and gathering all the experience required to make it big and to step into the shoes of Leo and Cris who may be bowing out in two or three years time. Talking about experience, there is no better platform to acquire this than in the World Cup.
Mbappe is cruising on the high at the moment. The world is watching as this lad powers on with his spellbound performance! We can only wish him well.