Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappé will have to overcome idol Cristiano Ronaldo to achieve dream
- The Frenchman famously grew up with posters of the Portugal skipper on his wall and will follow in his footsteps by moving to Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé will have to end his childhood idol’s European Championship dreams if he is to achieve his when France take on Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Les Bleus’ captain famously grew up with posters of Cristiano Ronaldo on his wall and victory for France in Hamburg would potentially spell the end of the 39-year-old’s remarkable international career.
The recent completion of Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid put an end to years of speculation about when he would sign for the Spanish giants, and his long-held desire to one day join them was in part down to Ronaldo.
Madrid attempted to sign Mbappé for the first time in December 2012, when he was invited to Madrid for a week, taken to a game and to the club’s Valdebebas training ground where he met Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.
“He is a hero from my childhood and it was amazing to meet him when I visited Valdebebas,” he once told Spanish sports daily Marca.
It has been a frustrating tournament so far for Mbappé and France, with the 25-year-old yet to find his best form at the tournament after months of speculation about his club future and then the broken nose that overshadowed his team’s opening game.
