A young Kylian Mbappe was rejected by Chelsea because of his lack of defensive skills. Yes, you read that right. Mbappe could have been a Chelsea player in the early stages of his career instead of AS Monaco. A story told by former Chelsea scout Serge Daniel Boga has confirmed this.
Boga scouted Mbappe when he was playing for AS Bondby. “I brought him over with his family. He was skillful, like he is now. He played against Charlton and won 7-0,” he told Goal.
“After a week at Chelsea, we went into the office. We said, ‘Listen, we appreciate what we saw from you but we have to invite you back for another trial and we’ll see after that.’”
Did you know? Chelsea rejected 13-year old Kylian Mbappé for not being able to defend 😳 pic.twitter.com/hxubQFDgCr
— KYSTAR (@KYSTAR) March 15, 2023
So, why would Chelsea pass up the opportunity to sign a top-class recruitment? Here’s Boga’s explanation:
“He was very skillful but in England, they want to see the player track back and be a hard worker. At the time, he wasn’t a hard worker,” said Boga.
“Defensively, he wasn’t there yet. When he got the ball, he was unbelievable, but without the ball, he didn’t work a lot.”
This incident was from around 2012. Mbappe was 13 years old at that point. He was showing signs of becoming a future great from a very early stage.
Kylian Mbappe’s mother Fayza Lamari warned Chelsea about her son’s future price
Mbappe’s mother Fayza Lamari had warned Chelsea that her son is going to be a top-level soccer player. She even named a huge price that Chelsea might have to pay for him in the coming years. However, that huge sum is not even close to what they actually might have to pay for him now.
Boga said, “I remember what the mother said to this day. She spoke in French to [Jim] Fraser and I was translating.
“She said to me, ‘Listen, my boy won’t be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now or in five years’ time they will be coming back to buy him for €50 million ($54 million) !’
“She was right, though. It wasn’t even €50m ($54m) but €180m ($194m) that someone would pay. So, she knew the quality of her son and she was right.“
Kylian Mbappé’s mother after Chelsea asked for him to have a second trial: “Listen, my boy won’t be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now or in five year’s time they will be coming back to buy him for €50 million!”
Current market value = 150 million !!! pic.twitter.com/hzx6cMWnWE— Dr.SIMZ (@Hussam_A95) September 15, 2018
Chelsea made a huge mistake and Boga agreed. “They should have signed him. To be fair, though, it is easy to say that now. But, at the time, Chelsea had a good squad.”
“I think until now, Mbappe is the best player I have ever scouted. I am proud, very proud to see what he has become. When I see him play, I say, ‘Wow, my eyes were good!’
“He has everything to remain one of the best players for 10 years.”
Today, Mbappe is one of the brightest prospects in soccer and plays for Paris Saint-Germain. He has already achieved great things in his soccer career. The Frenchman won the FIFA World Cup 2018 and even starred in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
