World Cup final 2022 Kylian Mbappe

France’s Kylian Mbappe won the World Cup Golden Boot award after scoring a hat-trick in Sunday’s final defeat by Argentina on penalties. Photo by Antonin THUILLIER / AFP

Kylian Mbappe: 5 Facts about World Cup 22 Golden Boot winner

From his athletic family to his love life and his giving heart, here are five things you didn’t know about French footballer Kylian Mbappe.

World Cup final 2022 Kylian Mbappe

France’s Kylian Mbappe won the World Cup Golden Boot award after scoring a hat-trick in Sunday’s final defeat by Argentina on penalties. Photo by Antonin THUILLIER / AFP

Like his Paris Saint Germain (PSG) teammate Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe is tipped to be one of the greatest footballers in history when he retires from football over a decade from now.

Having already broken several records at a young age, Mbappe won the Golden Boot award at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Sunday 18 December with eight goals in the tournament. This is after scoring a hat-trick in the final against Argentina which ended 4-2 to the South American team in the penalty shootouts.

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France’s forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 18, 2022. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Here are five things you didn’t know about the 23-year-old Frenchman…

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1. MBAPPE COMES FROM AN ATHLETIC FAMILY

Athleticism runs in the the soccer player’s amily. Mbapoe’s mother, Fayza Lamar, was a handball player who olayed in Division 1 in the 1990s. His father Wilfried Bondy, was a footballer who also played for AS Bondy. Mbappé’s adopted brother, Jirès Kembo-Ekoko, is also a professional footballer and his little brother Ethan plays for Paris Saint Germain’s under 12 league.

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2. HE COULD HAVE PLAYED FOR OTHER COUNTRIES

Although Mbappe chose to plau for france, he was actually spolit for choice as he could have played forone of two African countries, Algeria or Cameroon. This is because his mother is from Algeria, while his father is from Cameroon, giving him a wide range of citizenship opportunities when it came to representing a country on the international stage.

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Les Herbiers vs PSG
Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappé (R) kicks the ball in front of Les Herbiers’ goalkeeper Matthieu Pichot during the French Cup final football match between Les Herbiers and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), on May 8, 2018 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. / AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

3. SECOND YOUNGEST PLAYER IN HISTORY TO SCORE IN A WORLD CUP

In 2018 in Russia, and at 19 years old, Mbappé was the first teenager to score in a World Cup final in decades. The last and only other teenager to do so was Brazilian legend Pelé, who scored at a World Cup final that his country went on to win 5-2 against Sweden in 1958.

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4. HE IS NOT SINGLE

While it is not clear who Mbappe is dating between two models he is linked to Ines Rau and Rose Bertram, French publication Corriere Dello Sports reported earlier this year that he has been spotted with Rau a couple of times.

Rau was born in France to Algerian parents. The transgender model, who is 32 years old, underwent gender reassignment surgery when she was only 16 years old.

Meanwhile, Belgian-born Bertram is the child of a Belgian father and her mother is from Cape Verde. She is 28 years old.

5. MBAPPE HAS A GIVING HEART

After winning the world cup in Russia in 2018, Mbappé reportedly said that he felt he should not be paid to represent France, so he donated approximately €400 000 (R7.5 million) he made over the course of the tournament to a children’s charity called Premiers de Cordée, Discover Walks reported. He earned an estimated €20 000 (R370 000) per game and a €300 000 (R5.6 million) bonus for winning the tournamen that year.