Mbappe now worth 250m: Vasilyev
After his dominant performances at the World Cup, Kylian Mbappe is worth 250 million euros, says Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev.
Mbappe is a "once-in-a-lifetime" talent whose value has almost doubled since he starred at the World Cup, but Vasilyev believes the club's production line should offer more stars to "surprise the football world" in the coming years.
Mbappe burst on to the world football scene as a 17-year-old during Monaco's run to the Champions League semifinals and the Ligue 1 title in 2017, and the striker has since won a domestic treble with Paris Saint-Germain and won the 2018 World Cup with France.
"He [Mbappe] is a phenomenon, he's the future Ballon d'Or," Vasilyev told ESPN. "I knew it before and before he left he was at my house and I had a copy of the Ballon d'Or and took a photo of it and sent it to him, saying soon it will be yours.
"Now there are very few people that will doubt that as sometime in the near future it will be his. It happened quickly, but we knew it all along. He would've made it at any club in the world but the fact he had an amazing season with Monaco, in 2016-17 with the title and semifinals of the Champions League and national team debut that helped him to be there and explode at the World Cup.
"We are proud that he's a product of our academy, we are proud that we have contributed to a world champion. We are proud that 20 years ago, we had four academy players in the team that won the World Cup, imagine that, so we continued the tradition in this World Cup."
Vasliyev believes the evolution of the transfer market since Neymar's world-record €222 million move to PSG last year means Mbappe is now worth in the region of €250-300m after a World Cup which saw him scoop the Best Young Player award as he helped France lift the trophy for a second time.
"Soccer and football as an industry is still gaining in popularity the world over," Vasilyev said of rising transfer fees. "We have seen the young kids in the U.S. they now play soccer and in China they are investing massively into youth development, academies and pitches. Football has become a global game and there's no competitor in sight. It will still grow, the growth will continue. The best days are yet to come.
When asked what price tag he would put on Mbappe now, Vasilyev replied: "I think his value is now €250-300m."
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