The wunderkind is already following in his big brother Kylian’s footsteps. Let’s get to know Ethan Mbappé as he continues to rise up the ranks at PSG.
Kylian Mbappé is one of the finest athletes in the world right now, but he’s not the only athlete to bear the Mbappé surname at French titans Paris Saint-Germain — the 24-year-old is the older brother to 16-year-old Ethan Mbappé, another potential footballing prodigy.
A left-footed midfielder, the younger Mbappé’s attracting some celebrity this week on social media thanks to a photo image from 2022 FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi‘s PSG homecoming on Jan. 4.
Among a crowd of smiles welcoming the Argentinian icon back to France, there’s Mbappé, delivering a meme-able glare that leaves plenty to the imagination regarding what he was thinking. The elder Mbappé was notably not present at the training grounds, as manager Christophe Galtier confirmed he and teammate Achraf Hakimi of Morocco were away “for a few days” to recover after a long World Cup run.
On that note, let’s get to know Kylian’s brother a bit better.
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Who is Ethan Mbappé?
D.O.B.: Dec. 29, 2006
Age: 16
Hometown: Montreuil, France
Position: Central midfield
Primary foot: Left
Club: Paris Saint-Germain U19
A left-footed central midfielder who can push forward or play the deep-lying role, Ethan’s game won’t be confused anytime soon for his pacey finisher of a brother. His game is more deliberate and technical than flashy and goal-crazy, and he’s developing game by game as a set piece taker as well.
Having just turned 16 at the end of December, Mbappé joined the PSG youth system around five years after Kylian arrived at the organization from Monaco. Two days before his brother played in the World Cup final, Mbappé made his senior debut in a friendly against Paris FC on Dec. 17. He came on as a substitute to replace Fabian Ruiz with PSG leading, thanks to a Nordi Mukiele goal. Les Rouge-et-Bleu eventually won, 2-1.
The Mbappé brothers have yet to play on the pitch together, but it hasn’t stopped the older Mbappé from drawing inspiration from little bro. According to a 2017 story from L’Equipe, Kylian’s arms-folded goal celebration was actually inspired by his sibling. As two played PlayStation together and Kylian took an L, Ethan posed the exact same way.
The rest is family history.
Before joining PSG, Ethan trained at local side AS Bondy, following in Kylian and adopted brother Jires Kembo-Ekoko’s footsteps. According to Transfermarkt, the teen’s contract at PSG expires in the summer 2024 transfer window.
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