THE nice gestures of celebrity players towards their contemporaries or the fans are seldom highlighted by the media.
Here I must note and congratulate Frenchman Kylian Mbappe who recently apologised after hitting a fan with a wayward shot during the warm-up of the World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco.
During the warm-up for the match, the PSG player missed the target with one of his shots and the ball flew into the stands. Unfortunately, it found the face of a France supporter sitting in one of the front rows and the man looked to be in some pain after being hit by it.
FAN SURPRISED
Mbappe noticed this and quickly climbed the advertising hoardings to check up on him himself, patting him on the arm.
Remaining dazed, the fan didn’t initially realise who it was that was doing so as he received help from those sat next to him. Once he realised and looked at Mbappe, the forward apologised again before returning to the pitch.
The 23-year-old would have no doubt cheered the man up by making both France goals possible in the Morocco win, and will do so even more if he can lead his country to Sunday’s second World Cup triumph in a row.
To do that, he’ll have the get the better of Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Lionel Messi who is looking to win the tournament for the first time in his career. With it being his last chance to do so, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
BEST PLAYERS
Mbappé is considered one of the best players in the world, renowned for his dribbling abilities, exceptional speed and finishing.
To track his record, he was born in Paris and raised in nearby Bondy, Mbappé began his senior club career in 2015 playing for Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title. In 2017, aged 18, he signed for Paris Saint-Germain on an eventual permanent transfer worth €180 million, making him the second-most-expensive player and most expensive teenage player.
There, he has won four Ligue 1 titles and three Coupes de France, and is the club’s second-highest all-time top goalscorer. He helped PSG reach their first UEFA Champions League Final in 2020.
SENIOR DEBUT
At international level, Mbappé made his senior debut for France in 2017, at age 18. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, and became the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final.
He finished as the joint second-highest goalscorer as France won the tournament, and won FIFA World Cup Best Young Player and French Player of the Year for his performances.
Deservedly, he was named to the FIFA FIFPro World11 in 2018 and 2019, the UEFA Team of the Year in 2018 and the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season in 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22. He was awarded the Globe Soccer Best Player of the Year in 2021.
More credits in winning the Golden Boy in 2017, Ligue 1 Player of the Year three times, and he finished as the Ligue 1 top scorer for four seasons.
For a celebrity, reportedly the highest-paid footballer in the world, he’s a classic example of humility.
* Suresh Nair is an award-winning sports journalist who is also a qualified international coach and international referee instructor.
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