- Pele met Kylian Mbappe for the first time in a lavish Parisian hotel
- Mbappe wants to emulate Pele's achievement of winning two World Cups
- Pele believes the PSG forward plays like a Brazilian and he is good to go
Football legend Pele and French World Cup star Kylian Mbappe finally met for the first time on Tuesday, April 2, at an event in a lavish Parisian hotel.
According to Daily Mail, the pair were initially scheduled to meet in November 2018, but was put off due to the 78-year-old Pele's state of health.
Interestingly, Mbappe, who scored France's final goal against Croatia in the 4-2 win at last year’s summer World Cup in Russia, emerged the second youngster to net in the final after Pele.
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“I think he is envying me, that's why he is trying to emulate me,” Pele joked after they were introduced.
“His style, the way he is playing, is Latino. Even Brazilian I would say. It's a shame he did not play for Santos (Pele's former club). But it's not too late.”
Mbappe's arrival on the big stage took lovers of the game by surprise.
After a decent outing with ex-club Monaco, the Frenchman, who was later sold to PSG in the summer also got his first invitation to Les Bleus camp in March 2017.
And less than 12 months after he was celebrating winning the World Cup.
At the Mundial, Mbappe was France main weapon against Argentina where he netted twice, along with a penalty as Lionel Messi watched Les Bleus cruise to a 4-3 victory.
Mbappe revealed that he was aware that a goal in the World Cup final would see his name 'enter history' alongside Pele.
At the last count, after netting a brace in Brazil's 5-2 win against Sweden in the final game of 1958 at 17, Pele claimed two more World Cups with the Selecao.
Mbappe believes it's 'statistically possible' to achieve the same feat like the Brazilian legend.
“But it would be unreal,” he said.
“Of course, as long as I will be able to win World Cups, my goal will be to win them because France is a great nation of football.
“We will be back in 2022 to try and win again,” he said
On his part, Pele went down memory lane as he reminisced that Mbappe and his Les Bleus teammates reminded him of Brazil's Selecao squad from the 1960's.
“Mbappe said France will prepare to win the next World Cup, but he should know that we (Brazil) are also going to get ready,” Pele warned.
Mbappe was named the World Cup's best young player in Russia just like Pele achieved in 1958.
Reacting about his qualities, Pele stressed that the French youngster has pace and intelligence, which are second to none.
“And he is unpredictable. He is changing his game all the time. It's his main advantage,” noted Pele, who scored more than 1,000 goals in his active days.
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But Mbappe would not be hoping to reach such figure.
“It might be possible if you count the goals scored on PlayStation,” he said.
“But even if with the goals scored at training, it will be difficult,” Mbappe submitted.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that ex-United manager Jose Mourinho has named Paris Saint Germain star Kylain Mbappe as world's most valuable player.
The Portuguese tactician, who is currently enjoying life as a TV pundit overlooked his former players Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba to rate the 20-year-old his MVP.
Mbappe has scored 26 goals and six assists in 23 Ligue 1 matches for the Parisians this campaign.
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