The story of the French national team’s “golden boy” who idolizes Cristiano Ronaldo has entered a new chapter. Leaving the past behind, opening the future.
The Portuguese team officially had to say goodbye to Euro 2024 after losing 4-5 on penalties to the “Gaul Roosters”. Right after the referee blew the final whistle, a myriad of emotions took place at the Allianz Arena (Munich). Those moments were recorded in full footage and images.
But there is an image that only lasts for a few seconds but still makes us remember it forever.
“Photographs open the door to the past, but at the same time they allow us to look into the future,” a world-famous photographer summed up his life’s photography experience with a quote like that.
And that saying coincided with the images that took place at Euro this morning. A photographer on the field captured the image of striker Mbappe celebrating the victory like a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. The striker 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1998 jumped up and down with joy, while Ronaldo in the distance quietly bowed his head and walked past. Ronaldo lost but he did not cry, his face clearly showed the struggle but he still calmly accepted reality. A photo but it captured the contrasting emotions of the winner – the loser and more than that, it was the present and the past of two generations of football. It was also a meeting of power transfer, when one person was “about to get old”, while the other was at his most vigorous age, expected to shine in the future. And interestingly, Mbappe of the past grew up with the dream of becoming Ronaldo.
Mbappe “passes” Ronaldo with joy
French “golden boy” idolizes “uncle” Ronaldo
In Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb northeast of Paris, Kylian Mbappe grew up in a room with four walls covered in football. One wall was dedicated to Jires Kembo, his adopted brother, who played for Rennes at the time. Another wall featured pictures of Neymar and Eden Hazard. The other two were dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The boy idolized Ronaldo since 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood
On December 8, 2009, just a few days before Mbappe’s 11th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day, his parents gave him a very special gift. It was a ticket to the Velodrome stadium to watch his idol CR7 play against Marseille in the Real shirt in the Champions League group stage.
After being satisfied with seeing his “idol” win the match, the boy sneaked out to the parking lot to go to the press conference room in the hope of meeting the Real star but the door was closed. Just as the 11-year-old boy burst into tears, the elevator at the Velodrome stadium opened, Pape Diouf, the president of OM at that time, and Jean-Charles De Bono, the former Marseille midfielder and also a commentator for OM TV, walked over like a “goddess” and gave Mbappe a “god-given” opportunity. Mbappe promised to listen, swallowed his tears, tried to hold back his sobs and waited until CR7 appeared in the press conference room.
At that time, Mbappe finally asked for Ronaldo’s autograph and photo, but when he dared to ask for his shoes, his idol refused with a smile and a friendly wink.
Mbappe and the dream of becoming Ronaldo
Three years later, Mbappe was invited by Real Madrid to the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Mbappe still refused the offer to join La Fabrica, Real Madrid’s youth academy, choosing to develop sustainably in France.
After nearly 10 years, Ronaldo is still a prominent name in world football, while Mbappe has also matured and quickly become a famous superstar no less than his senior.
From dreamy 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 to idol confrontations
At Euro 2016, when Ronaldo and Portugal won the championship after defeating France in the final, Mbappe was only 17 years old and had not been called up to the national team, so he did not have the chance to face his senior. Two years later at the 2018 World Cup, Portugal and France were not in the same group and had different fates. While Ronaldo and his teammates were eliminated by Uruguay in the round of 16, Mbappe shone with France to win the championship in Russia at the age of 19.
At club level, Mbappe faced Ronaldo twice in the 2017-2018 Champions League round of 16, Real Madrid won both, with scores of 3-1 and 2-1 respectively. The two encounters were between France and Portugal, with a 0-0 draw in the 2020 Nations League group stage and France winning 1-0 in the Euro 2020 group stage.
In 2020, Mbappé posted on Twitter (X) that Ronaldo was his “idol”. And just a few months ago, Ronaldo expressed his welcome when Mbappe reached an agreement to move to Real on Instagram, saying: “So happy to see you light up the Bernabeu”.
“I was a kid who dreamed of many things, but above all, to have a career like Cristiano Ronaldo.” In 2021, in an interview with Bild, Mbappe did not hesitate to express his feelings for his idol to the press, even though at that time he was already an emerging “force” on the world football map.
Mbappe embarrassed when swapping shirts with Ronaldo at Euro 2020
And now, the old bamboo and new shoots grow.
Ronaldo has turned 39, his face is full of wrinkles of age. Time has also gradually erased the s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s of the Portuguese “legend”… Losing to France, Ronaldo sadly had to say goodbye to Euro in a cruel way.
The boy who is now the captain of the French team shook hands with Ronaldo – the captain of Portugal.
Mbappe has won seven Ligue 1 titles – six of them at PSG – and no Champions League. However, he has one thing that Ronaldo will never have – a World Cup, in 2018, at just 19. And Mbappe is also on the verge of winning the Euro 2024 trophy, having eliminated his uncle Ronaldo’s team.
The story of two generations of outstanding players in world football, with the predecessors being the role models for the younger generation to follow, has been written with great emotion. From a little boy lying in bed and admiringly looking at the pictures of Ronaldo on the wall. Now Mbappe will become the main character in the pictures of many other 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, why not?
