NON-FICTION: THE BOY WHO BECAME MBAPPÉ |
Kylian Mbappé: The Definitive Biography By Julien Laurens Seven Dials ISBN: 9781399629577 352pp.
Have you ever noticed how every great sports movie follows a familiar pattern? It features an underdog with extraordinary talent, obstacles that threaten to derail the dream and heartbreak that ultimately leads to triumph. That formula endures because it mirrors real life, and Julien Laurens’ Kylian Mbappé: The Definitive Biography proves exactly that.
On the surface, Kylian Mbappé appears to have achieved everything a footballer could hope for before turning 30. He won the Fifa World Cup on his debut in 2018, reached the
final four years later, and continues to pursue football’s biggest honours with club and country. Yet, behind the trophies lies a story of resilience, discipline and unwavering ambition every bit as compelling as a Hollywood screenplay.
Laurens’ ‘definitive biography’ traces every stage of Mbappé’s rise. Long before the football world hailed him as the next global superstar, Laurens was already following the gifted 10-year-old from Bondy. Drawing on interviews with childhood friends, coaches and teammates, as well as comments from his parents, Fayza Lamari and Wilfrid Mbappé, the author pieces together the remarkable story of a boy from the Paris suburbs who would eventually earn praise from Brazilian legend Pelé after becoming only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final.
A new biography chronicles the French football captain’s extraordinary rise from a Zinedine Zidane-loving boy in Paris’ suburbs to one of the defining stars of the modern game
A new biography chronicles the French football captain’s extraordinary rise from a Zinedine Zidane-loving boy in Paris’ suburbs to one........