It all seems like another time. Kylian Mbappé was 18 years old and wore the colors of Monaco. But already, the one who was still only a prodigy of French football was causing a certain madness in his path. It was in the summer of 2017 and the man who had just signed for Real Madrid had stopped off in Valais for a preparation course with his then club.
It was in Saillon that Mbappé was seen. It was there that AS Monaco had chosen to settle for a few days. The Hôtel des Bains for residence, the Saint-Laurent stadium field for training. But even then, it was difficult for the kid from Bondy to go unnoticed. It must be said that he had just exploded at the highest level during the 2016-17 season, helping to take ASM to the semi-final of the Champions League.
His name was already on everyone’s lips, the biggest European clubs were fighting to secure his services. On Instagram, he already had 1.7 million subscribers. Far from the current 117 million, but that already made him a dubbed player. So much so that Le Matin had already traveled to Valais to follow in the prodigy’s footsteps. But the young man was already protected: no announcement of the arrival time of the Monegasque delegation, a communications officer who refused the slightest statement.
Because it was on the ground that he had to speak. During this Swiss week, Kylian Mbappé and Monaco are participating in three friendly matches: in Martigny against Xherdan Shaqiri’s Stoke City, in Bagnes against PSV Eindhoven and in Montreux (short Vaudois getaway) against Fenerbahçe. Mbappé plays, but scores no goals.
No matter, young fans only have eyes for him, obviously. They invade the field, wait for him at the exit of the locker room. And there, young Mbappé is cooperative: he takes photos and autographs. “Let me go to them for a moment, I won’t risk anything,” he said to the security members surrounding him. Skilled communicator. And already, we think that the future reserved for him will be glorious.
Mbappé will wait until the last day of the transfer window to sign for Paris Saint-Germain for 180 million euros, with the outcome as we know.
