Madrid, Mbappe and a mission of a lifetime

Playing against Bondy's champion was nary mean feat fixed nan tally of master footballers among their alumni - which includes Arsenal defender William Saliba - is successful double figures.

Project Mbappe didn't extremity there.

While a teenage Mbappe pinned up pictures of Ronaldo and watched aged footage of Zinedine Zidane, different Real Madrid superstar, location was a 3rd domiciled exemplary acold person to location - Jires Kembo Ekoko, his adopted brother.

Ekoko was taken successful by Mbappe's parents erstwhile he was 9 and was selected for nan French Federation's nationalist academy astatine Clairefontaine earlier playing professionally for Rennes successful Ligue 1.

Ekoko was much than a decade older than Mbappe but had a large impact.

At nan property of six, Mbappe had learned nan French nationalist anthem, explaining to his coach that "one day, I'll play successful nan World Cup for France".

It wasn't only Wilfried and Fayza who believed Mbappe was destined for large things.

Nike came calling pinch free shoes erstwhile he was conscionable 10. A small complete six years later, he made his first-team debut for Monaco. But nan advancement betwixt those 2 points was not smooth.

Allan Momege was a classmate of Mbappe astatine Clairefontaine.

"At nan clip I met him, he wasn't nan subordinate who impressed maine nan most," Momege says of Mbappe successful nan BBC Sport documentary.

"He didn't guidelines retired for maine arsenic a subordinate during nan trials. The first clip I saw him play, I didn't think, 'Wow!'

"There were location selections and Kylian wasn't successful nan champion team."

Matt Spiro, an writer and French shot expert, echoes Momege.

"Kylian initially recovered it a spot difficult astatine Clairefontaine," he says. "He was location for 2 years and during nan first year, he surely wasn't nan champion successful his group. I deliberation moreover Kylian would admit that.

"Mbappe would play retired connected nan helping and would rather often beryllium successful a sulky mood. He had a maturation spurt, I deliberation towards nan extremity of his first twelvemonth successful Clairefontaine, and by nan 2nd year, he was really starting to look nan business.

"Then group were thinking, we've sewage a very, very typical talent connected our hands."

That talent was picked up by Monaco scouts successful July 2013, erstwhile he was aged 14.

Moving from nan Parisian suburbs to nan wealthy, sunny Cote d'Azur astatine specified a young property could person made others spell wrong themselves.

Not nan boy from Bondy.