From an article published on 2 May 2021 and available in full on France Football. Updated on 22 April 2026 by Ballon d'Or.

For Kylian Mbappe, the real beginning, was the 2016-17 season. In August 2016, just weeks after leading France to victory in the U19 European Championship with a dazzling five goals in five knockout games, the 17-year-old was eager for more. Having made his Ligue 1 debut for Monaco at 16 on December 2, 2015, and even getting his first taste of European football in a Europa League match against Tottenham, he was impatient to increase his playing time. On August 13, 2016, Mbappé started Monaco's Ligue 1 season opener against Guingamp. But his day ended after just 40 minutes. Following a head-on aerial collision, he was stretchered off with a concussion. Hospitalized as a precaution, the young forward was sidelined for over a month, missing Monaco's 2-1 Champions League victory at Tottenham. He finally made his debut in the premier competition on September 27, 2016, against Bayer Leverkusen. With his team trailing 1-0, coach Leonardo Jardim brought on the young talent in the 77th minute. In the dying moments of stoppage time, Kamil Glik volleyed home a stunning equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw.

The first "Mbappé Effect"

Despite an injury to star striker Radamel Falcao, Mbappé struggled to secure significant minutes in either the Champions League or Ligue 1. He played only eight minutes in a 7-0 rout of Metz and just seven in Moscow against CSKA. In that match, with Monaco down 1-0, he came on and, just seconds later, his quick footwork set up a chance that led to Bernardo Silva's 87th-minute equalizer. Two brief appearances, two game-changing moments. Was this the "Mbappé effect" already taking hold? Although he began scoring in the league, his European involvement remained limited. He was an unused substitute when Monaco clinched qualification against Tottenham. An ankle injury sustained in training then denied him a potential first start in a dead-rubber match against Leverkusen.

February 2017 changed everything. After limited action in January, Mbappé was handed a rare start against Metz in Ligue 1 and responded with a stunning hat-trick inside 50 minutes. He became the second-youngest player to score a top-flight hat-trick, behind only Jérémy Ménez. "I'm not a phenomenon yet," he said at the time. "The phenomenons are Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar. I'm still a long way from that."

Ten days later, the football world would witness his explosive arrival. At Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, Jardim made a bold call, handing Mbappé his first-ever Champions League start alongside Falcao in a 4-4-2 formation. He has become the third-youngest French player to make his Champions League debut. Facing Pep Guardiola's star-studded side, Monaco fell behind to a Raheem Sterling goal. But after Falcao equalized, Mbappé announced himself to the world. Latching onto a pass from Fabinho, he blazed past a sleeping Nicolas Otamendi and hammered a powerful shot into the net for his first Champions League goal.

"I'm not a phenomenon yet. The phenomenons are Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar. I'm still a long way from that."

The day before the match, City's Kevin De Bruyne had admitted, "I confess I don't know him. I don't watch much football at home. I have a baby to take care of." After that night, everyone knew Kylian Mbappé. His career had officially launched, and he became an undisputed starter for Monaco. "He reminds me a bit of a young Thierry Henry," Arsène Wenger acknowledged a few days later. "With the same clever look, the same intelligent movement, and that feline quality in his finishing." In the return leg, with Radamel Falcao sidelined, Mbappé was once again in the starting lineup as Monaco sought to overturn the deficit against Manchester City. He made an immediate impact, with a cross and a shot saved by Caballero in the opening minutes, before opening the scoring from a Bernardo Silva cross (1-0, 8').

Manchester City, the first step

In a night of total attacking football, Monaco led 3-2 at the hour mark, highlighted by a sublime lob from Falcao over Willy Caballero while a wide-open Mbappé awaited the ball. However, their lead crumbled in the final quarter of an hour. Coach Jardim controversially substituted Mbappé, whose blistering pace had been a constant threat to City's shaky defense. The final score was 5-3.

"I used him up front because we know City well: they leave a lot of space behind their defense," Jardim explained after the match regarding Mbappé. "Kylian is very fast and can therefore get in behind the opponent. He had a good match, a great match, for an eighteen-year-old." In addition to his goal, Mbappé could have scored twice more: a left-footed shot that went over the bar from a good position (36') and another left-footed attempt that hit the side netting after a feint that would soon become his signature move (69').

Kevin De Bruyne: "I have to admit, I don't know who he is."

Though less influential after half-time as the Mancunians dominated possession, he witnessed Tiémoué Bakayoko head home the qualifying goal with a quarter of an hour left. The very next day, at 18 years and three months old, he received his first call-up to the French national team from Didier Deschamps.

After making two appearances for France against Luxembourg and Spain, Mbappé's incredible start to 2017 continued as he returned to Champions League action for a quarter-final clash against Ousmane Dembélé's Borussia Dortmund. The stage was set at a roaring Signal Iduna Park, but the first leg took a dramatic turn when the Dortmund team bus was attacked. The match was postponed to the following day.

Amid an evening defined by solidarity, Mbappé would go on to torment the BVB side, then managed by Thomas Tuchel. He first cleverly won a penalty, which Fabinho missed. He then quickly opened the scoring, albeit with a touch of fortune, turning in a Thomas Lemar cross with his knee. With ten minutes remaining, as Monaco fought to hold off a Dortmund comeback, the number 29 stole the ball 40 yards from goal, advanced, and fired past Roman Bürki with unnerving composure.

A goal in each of his first four knockout matches: an unprecedented feat

It was Mbappé's first brace in the Champions League, making him only the fifth player in the competition's history to score in his first three knockout stage matches, following Christian Karembeu, Stefan Effenberg, Luis Garcia, and Leroy Sane. "I've always been told that every time I touch the ball, something has to happen," the Monaco star smiled after the game. "I try to apply that principle every time I play. It worked out for me today, and I hope it will every day."

Mbappé also spoke about the previous day's events: "We went through it. Since I know Ousmane (Dembélé), I called him, I tried to give him information, and he gave me some too. (...) Honestly, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But we are professionals, we have to get used to everything, even the most extreme conditions. Today was extreme. But we tried to perform at the level of a Champions League quarter-final."

The question was no longer if he would start, but whether he would score. In the return leg, it took him just three minutes to put his team on the path to the semi-finals. Following a powerful run and shot from Benjamin Mendy that was parried by Bürki, Mbappé pounced like a poacher to finish the rebound. No player had ever scored in their first four Champions League knockout matches. After also providing the penultimate pass for the second goal, Mbappé led his team into the final four.

Always ahead of his time

Next up was a formidable Juventus side featuring Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon, and Giorgio Chiellini, who had just eliminated Barcelona's "MSN" trio. The challenge proved too great, and the goal-scoring streak came to an end. At the Stade Louis-II, Mbappé had a clear chance to beat the legendary Italian goalkeeper but was denied by Buffon. Nevertheless, he was a constant threat, relentlessly trying to create opportunities throughout the match.

Despite Juventus leaving him very little space to operate, particularly in behind their defense, Kylian Mbappé still managed to shine. In fact, he was one of Monaco's top-rated players in the Champions League semi-final, a testament to his rapid development at the highest level. With only a slim 3% chance of advancing, Monaco's hopes were faint. Still, Mbappé provided a glimmer of hope, scoring with twenty minutes left to play. At 18 years and 140 days old, he became the youngest player to score in a Champions League semi-final, capping off an incredible debut European campaign. It was clear: Mbappé and the Champions League were destined for a long and storied relationship.

Four months later, the familiar Champions League anthem played again for Mbappé, but this time he was wearing a different jersey. Following a massive €180 million transfer, he was now at Paris Saint-Germain, joining Neymar, who had arrived the same summer for a world-record €222 million. For a PSG side still reeling from their traumatic exit against Barcelona the previous season, the star-studded attack was meant to fuel their grandest ambitions. Alongside Edinson Cavani, the "MCN" trio was expected to take Paris deep into the competition.

Nicknamed "Donatello" at PSG, Mbappe scored his first goal for his new club against Metz in a 5-1 league victory. He was naturally in the starting lineup for the Champions League opener against Celtic in Glasgow. Playing on the right side of the attack, it took him just 34 minutes to open his European account for Unai Emery's team. (...)

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