“I’m a fan” - Zinedine Zidane sends touching message to Real Madrid new boy Kylian Mbappe
Former Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane has sent a heartwarming message to new signing Kylian Mbappe. The French forward recently signed for the La Liga giants, leaving Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2024-25 season.
As per French media outlet Telefoot, Zidane congratulated Mbappe, calling himself a fan of the new Madrid player.
“Well done Kylian. Congratulations for everything you have done, for what you do, who you are, and keep going. I’m a fan, so we will keep following you and admiring you,” Zidane said.
In an interview with the same outlet last week, Zidane said that Mbappe will make history at the club, surpassing "everyone" else. The Frenchman will be presented to fans at the Bernabeu after the Euros.
"Mbappe is here now. He will make history at the club and I think he’ll surpass all the great French players, including myself. Looking at him, I think he will surpass the others," the former Los Blancos midfielder said.
Real Madrid formally announced the signing of Kylian Mbappe on June 3, 2024, after weeks of the player being heavily linked to the club. Mbappe has signed a five-year contract with the Spanish club as per their official announcement.
Zinedine Zidane has always been appreciative of the player, having been one of the first people to have recognized his talent. Zidane had reportedly invited Kylian Mbappe to the Los Blancos academy back in 2012 although the player did not joining the club.
Kylian Mbappe first met Zinedine Zidane at the Real Madrid academy when he was 14
In a published letter in The Players' Tribune, Kylian Mbappe recalled the first time he met his childhood hero Zinedine Zidane at the Real Madrid training center at Valdebebas in 2012 at the age of 14.
Mbappe wrote in the memoir that his father received a phone call from Real Madrid, inviting the player to a week-long training session in Madrid during his school holidays.
“It was a shock, because they actually told my father, ‘Zidane would like to see your son.' At the time, Zizou was the sporting director. Of course, I was over the moon. I was desperate to go,” Mbappe said. (via Diario AS)
The Frenchman recalled how he met Zidane at the parking lot and the legend offered to drive him to the training center.
“Zidane met us in the parking lot by his car and it was a really nice car, of course. We said hello, and then he offered to drive me over to the field for training. He was pointing at the front seat, like, ‘Go on, get in,'" the former PSG star recalled.
Kylian Mbappe compared the feeling of meeting Zinedine Zidane with that of winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with France.
“He drove me to the training pitch, and I was just thinking to myself, I am in Zizou’s car. I am Kylian from Bondy. This is not real. I must still be sleeping on the airplane. Sometimes, even when you are really living something, it feels like a dream. It was the same feeling at the World Cup in Russia,” he wrote.
As per a report by Diario AS, Zinedine Zidane later admitted that Kylian Mbappe was 'very good' at an early age and he was almost signed by Real Madrid at the age of 14. However, the player later ended up joining Monaco before moving on the Paris St-Germain in 2017.