00:01July 2023 marked the end of an era in European football as Lionel Messi bid farewell to Paris
00:09Saint-Germain to join Major League Soccer in the United States. After leading Argentina to World
00:16Cup glory at Qatar 2022, Messi followed longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo in leaving the European
00:24club scene. After two decades of dominating individual honours, it marked the passing of
00:30the baton to a new generation, a generation led by France ace Kylian Mbappé. Mbappé has shown us who
00:39he is, both with his club and with the national team. He's already doing really well in the present,
00:45but he's also the future of football. He embodies football post-Cristiano Ronaldo, post-Messi.
00:51He's an outstanding player. By the age of 22, Mbappé had already scored in consecutive World Cup
00:59finals, celebrating victory in one, bagging a hat-trick in a losing cause in the other.
01:08After breaking through as a 16-year-old with Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain made the electrifying
01:14forward the second most expensive player in history when they agreed to pay 180 million euros
01:20for the then 18-year-old. Mbappé went on to shatter all kinds of records in the French capital,
01:28becoming the club's all-time leading goal scorer by the age of 24.
01:35Known for his explosive pace, superb dribbling and clinical finishing, Mbappé is often compared
01:41to the great Pelé. And it was by becoming the first teenager since the Brazilian legend to score
01:48in a World Cup final that heralded Mbappé's arrival as a global superstar. That was during
01:54France's triumphant 2018 campaign.
02:00I knew before the final that if I had an opportunity to score, then I would make history.
02:08We did something great. And I'm very, very proud. Because it's for our country.
02:15Nothing beyond our country. It is the highest point. It's paramount. And it was an absolute dream for me
02:23to win the World Cup.
02:24It was an absolute dream for me.
02:26Four years later, Mbappé further enhanced comparisons with Pelé by scoring in a second
02:32World Cup final. In Qatar, he fired only the second hat-trick in World Cup final history,
02:39yet somehow ended up on the losing side.
02:43It was enough for Mbappé to win the World Cup golden boot and match Pelé's World Cup goals
02:49as Tali, at the age of 23.
02:53It's already excellent to have won one World Cup, but the next objective is then to carry
02:58on, not to just sit there, because I think we have incredible potential. Our team can do
03:03wonderful things.
03:06After Qatar 2022, Mbappé was appointed France's new captain, a reflection of the forward's maturity.
03:14A status enhanced in 2024, when he completed his dream move to Real Madrid.
03:21It's incredible to be here today. For so many years, I've gone to sleep and dreamt about
03:26it. And today, I'm fulfilling it. I'm a happy boy today. I'm very happy.
03:39The heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The equal of Pelé. Captain of France and
03:49star striker for the biggest club side in the world. Kylian Mbappé is the face of football's
03:56greatest stage.
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