Posts

Image
  Kylian Mbappé Early life Kylian Mbappé was born in Paris and grew up in Bondy, one of the Parisian  suburbs  (banlieues) with working-class, mostly immigrant residents. His mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian descent, and his father, Wilfried Mbappé, had immigrated from Cameroon. Wilfried Mbappé was a coach and director for the local club AS Bondy, and his son joined the club’s youth teams at age six. Kylian Mbappé quickly became known for his exceptional speed and ball handling, and, several years later, he was selected to train at Clairefontaine,  France’s  national academy for elite football players. He spent two years there, and a number of notable European clubs—among them  Real Madrid ,  Arsenal ,  Chelsea , and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)—expressed an interest in signing him. In 2013, at age 14, he signed with AS Monaco, which competes in Ligue 1 (France’s top-division league), and he played on the club’s  youth  and under-19 teams. Club play When Mbappé made his debut with AS
Image
  Neymar Early life Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born in  Mogi das Cruzes ,  São Paulo , to Neymar Santos Sr. and Nadine da Silva and had a  Christian  upbringing. He inherited his name from his father, who is a former footballer and became his son's advisor as Neymar's talents began to grow. Neymar comments on his father's role: "My father has been by my side since I was little. He takes care of things, my finances and my family." Growing up, Neymar combined his love of  futsal  with  street football . Neymar said that futsal had a massive influence on him growing up, helping him develop his technique, speed of thought and ability to perform moves in tight spaces. In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to  São Vicente , where he began playing for youth side  Portuguesa Santista . Then, later in 2003, they moved to  Santos , where Neymar joined  Santos . With the success of his youth career and added income, the family bought their first property, a house next