Get to know Kylian Mbappe: 5 things about the Real Madrid target you should know about him off the field

Kylian Mbappe is the talk of the transfer window and may well prove himself to be football’s next big thing after an explosive start to his career. The 18-year-old has thrived since being thrust into Monaco’s first team, scoring 26 goals in 44 outings last year at a rate of one every 101 minutes.

As a result, he stands in line to receive an astonishing 900% pay increase from the Ligue 1 champions, should he choose to turn down a move to Real Madrid, who are the side hottest on his tail currently.

But having exploded onto the scene only six months ago, he remains a player largely unknown to many.

Here are five things you should know about him away from the field:

#1 Sport was everything in his family

Since he was a little child, everything in his family has been geared towards sport. His mother, for example, played handball for US Bondy, but it was football that dominated the conversations at home.

“Ever since I was really small, there wasn’t a day went by when we didn’t speak about football at home,” he told Le Parisien. “From waking up, I would scrutinise the football news the football news on television and it was the same before going to bed. It’s come naturally.”

Mbappe’s father was also at the Bondy club, but he coached football there.

“It gave me pleasure from when I was four until when I was 14. There was never any pressure, I played carefreely and I was sheltered from everything. My dad played there and coached the young teams, my little brother played for the Under-11s. It was our family’s club,” he explained.