00:00July 2023 marked the end of an era in European football
00:05as Lionel Messi bid farewell to Paris Saint-Germain
00:08to join Major League Soccer in the United States.
00:13After leading Argentina to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022,
00:18Messi followed long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo
00:21in leaving the European club scene.
00:24After two decades of dominating individual honours,
00:27it marked the passing of the baton to a new generation,
00:31a generation led by France ace Kylian Mbappé.
00:36Mbappé has shown us who he is, both with his club and with the national team.
00:41He's already doing really well in the present, but he's also the future of football.
00:46He embodies football post-Cristiano Ronaldo, post-Messi.
00:50He's an outstanding player.
00:53By the age of 22, Mbappé had already scored in consecutive World Cup finals,
00:59celebrating victory in one, bagging a hat-trick in a losing cause in the other.
01:07After breaking through as a 16-year-old with Monaco,
01:10Paris Saint-Germain made the electrifying forward the second most expensive player in history
01:15when they agreed to pay 180 million euros for the then 18-year-old.
01:22Mbappé went on to shatter all kinds of records in the French capital,
01:27becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer by the age of 24.
01:34Known for his explosive pace, superb dribbling and clinical finishing,
01:38Mbappé is often compared to the great Pelé. And it was by becoming the first teenager,
01:45since the Brazilian legend, to score in a World Cup final that heralded Mbappé's arrival
01:50as a global superstar. That was during France's triumphant 2018 campaign.
01:57I knew before the final that if I had an opportunity to score, then I would make history.
02:06We did something great. And I'm very, very proud. Because it's for our country.
02:14Nothing beyond our country. It is the highest point. It's paramount.
02:19And it was an absolute dream for me to win the World Cup.
02:23It was an absolute dream.
02:25Four years later, Mbappé further enhanced comparisons with Pelé
02:29by scoring in a second World Cup final. In Qatar, he fired only the second hat-trick
02:35in World Cup final history, yet somehow ended up on the losing side.
02:42It was enough for Mbappé to win the World Cup golden boot
02:46and match Pelé's World Cup goals tally at the age of 23.
02:52It's already excellent to have won one World Cup. But the next objective is then to carry on,
02:57not to just sit there. Because I think we have incredible potential. Our team can do wonderful things.
03:04After Qatar 2022, Mbappé was appointed France's new captain, a reflection of the forward's maturity.
03:13A status enhanced in 2024, when he completed his dream move to Real Madrid.
03:20It's incredible to be here today. For so many years, I've gone to sleep and dreamt about it.
03:25And today, I'm fulfilling it. I'm a happy boy today. I'm very happy.
03:38The heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
03:43The equal of Pelé. Captain of France and star striker for the biggest club side in the world.
03:51Kylian Mbappé is the face of football's greatest stage.
03:55And one of, as I remember, lives followed by the last half of the year to be in the year.
03:55So far, how does the year have been coming over?
03:56I'm thinking of trying to find the first half of the year.
03:56I have a great idea for the year.
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