'I don't want to be a copy'
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe sat down for a candid interview with Swiss public broadcasting organisation Radio Television Suisse, emphasising that he did not want to be a copy of another player no matter how great they are while also discussing the 'obscene' amounts of money in today's game.
The 19-year-old has become one of the hottest properties in world football. He became the second-most expensive transfer of all-time when he joined Les Parisiens from AS Monaco for a fee in the region of 180 million euros and earlier this year he set the World Cup alight with his electrifying performances for France, capped by a goal in the final against Croatia.
However, despite comparisons to the legendary Brazil's Fenomeno, Ronaldo, Mbappe says he wants to write his own story.
"Like most veterans, you must make your story for yourself and not be a copy of another. I think it's natural to have high self-esteem," he said.
The youngster, whose maturity both on the pitch in terms of decision-making and off the pitch with his charitable endeavours has drawn him great praise, also adds that it is important to keep in touch with the child inside himself.
"I keep a childish side, staying a bit immature is not bad, there is so much pressure in football that joy and having a bit of fun can help a little," Mbappe said. "There is no bad time to laugh, I always joke, even five minutes before a game."
Less than week after German magazine Der Spiegel published documents from Football Leaks which unveiled an astonishing set of contract demands made by the then 18-year-old France forward when he was moving to PSG, Mbappe admitted that although the money is 'obscene', the transfer market must be respected.
"It's really obscene for me, because I come from a fairly modest family," said the French international. "It's true that it's obscene, but the market is like that, and the world of football works like that. I'm not going to revolutionise football. In a system, you have to know how to respect it and stay in your place too."
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