Kylian Mbappe Called Cristiano Ronaldo his idol via his Instagram page with 43.8 million followers and his Twitter page with 5.2 million followers after playing against him in a UEFA Nations League match on Sunday.
On both social media pages, the 21-year-old French left-winger shared pictures he took with the 35-year-old Portuguese forward before the start of the second half of France vs Portugal nations league match.
In the pictures, Mbappe and Ronaldo could be seen exchanging words with smiling faces. In the caption, the Paris Saint Germain winger wrote: “Idol👑🐐… @cristiano”.
Besides the beautiful show of respect and admiration from Kylian Mbappe during the match, the keenly contested and star-studded meeting did not produce any goal. The match was the two national teams’ third league match so far this season.
The draw has forced both France and Portugal to remain on the same 7 points in three games after two wins and a draw. Portugal is occupying the first spot on League A Group 3 table, while France is occupying the 2nd spot due to superior goals difference.
The next UEFA Nations League matches of the two countries will come up on October 14. Portugal will take on Sweden while France will take on Croatia.
Kylian Mbappe Called Cristiano Ronaldo his hero long before Mbappe’s fame
Kylian Mbappe has regarded Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol long before he became a world-famous football star. Reports have it that Mbappe used to put posters of the Portuguese football icon on his bedroom walls and always looked forward to meeting with Ronaldo.
The French star finally had the opportunity to meet with Ronaldo in Madrid when Mbappe was still a teenager who was still sharpening his football skills.
After he finally came to the limelight as a teenage football sensation, Mbappe had the opportunity to tell the world how much he admires Ronaldo in an interview he granted Marca in 2017.
In the interview, Kylian Mbappe called Cristiano Ronaldo his “hero from my childhood”, describing how “amazing” it was for him to meet Ronaldo when he visited Valdebebas in Madrid, Spain.
“But I am a competitor and a very competitive person and all I want to do is win, win, win. So it doesn’t matter who is in front of us, we want to win”, he noted.
“I admired him when I was younger, but that ended. Now I go to the Bernabeu to play and to win.
“From someone who has won five Ballons d’Or you can learn a lot. He’s a great player, but I have those here too. Neymar is here and I think he is very similar and is at practically the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo. I learn from [Edinson] Cavani as a goalscorer too.”
Cristiano Ronaldo with Mbappe. pic.twitter.com/p5If0OPcxh
— TC. (@totalcristiano) October 11, 2020
