The Mbappe family are creating a super team – Kylian’s brother is a midfield dreamboat

Mitchell Wilks • 22 Dec 2023

Because one Mbappe wasn’t enough, the French family and Paris Saint-Germain just had to nurture yet another generational talent for us all to deal with.

The world stood still when Kylian Mbappe burst onto the scene as a teenager at Monaco. His wicked pace combined with an unrelenting flair and vision well beyond his years immediately screamed ‘generational’.

His 2017 move to PSG was inevitable, as was his ascent to the very top of the footballing mountain. At age 25, the only reason he’s yet to win a Ballon d’Or is because of the two footballing anomalies he’s in the process of dethroning – and partly because of PSG’s laughable record in Europe.

But we’re not here to discuss either of those things. Instead, we need to start an investigation. How on earth has the Mbappe family been allowed to produce not one, but two genuinely elite football talents?

As if a generational forward wasn’t enough, they’ve quietly been cooking project Ethan in the background just as project Kylian begins to simmer and come to the boil – and it’s PSG reaping the rewards once again.

Complimenting their genuinely once-in-a-lifetime eldest son is Ethan, a 16-year-old midfielder who recently made headlines as he made his senior debut for Les Parisiens on his older brother’s 25th birthday.

Such an iconic and unique moment deserves its flowers, but it’s merely the latest chapter in a story that’s already been in the works for some time. Now the dust has settled on the debut, it’s time to go back a few steps.

While Kylian defies science in attack, dazzling spectators and making defenders question everything with a proverbial cigar in his mouth, Ethan has so far made an incredibly impressive youth career out of pulling the strings in midfield.

Blessed with an absolute wand of a left foot – which appears to zing passes via satellite considering how crisp they are – and an imposing frame for his age to shield the ball from the opposition, Mbappe combines those traits with what is seemingly trademark flair and acceleration from just about anywhere he fancies in the midfield.

Watching him is immensely tiring, which is ironic because he makes his work look effortless. A midfielder with such authoritative qualities simply should not be as aesthetically pleasing as he is.

In an age of first phases, lines and other tactical nonsense, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a renaissance of box-to-box destroyers who look more than capable of doing all of the above with mighty ease.

Bullying his way around the field in a style not too dissimilar to Jude Bellingham, Ethan Mbappe evidently still very green, but has shown more than enough potential to be moulded into a world-class player.

What stands out most is that natural stride with the ball at his feet, eerily similar to his older brother. Being able to hone that skill as a midfielder feels like a complete cheat code.

Most families don’t even produce one professional footballer, never mind one generational talent and one young baller with the potential to go all the way. Absurd.

There’s an alternate universe where Ethan makes it stick after his debut at 16 and blossoms into a creative menace, feeding balls through to his older brother for club and country.

The most terrifying part is that we could be in that alternate universe.

By Mitch Wilks

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