Why Is Mbappé So Good?
Kylian Mbappé is a French international striker who has been making headlines for many years now. He’s won a World Cup, as well as scoring a hat trick in a World Cup final, he’s won France player of the year 3 times and is on the shopping list of every elite team in world football.
In this article, we ask, why is Mbappé so good? We discuss his skills and attributes, Mbappé’s pace, his impact on the footballing world and much more. If you want to learn all about France’s world-beater, we suggest reading on.
Table of Contents
Why Is Mbappé So Good?
Kylian Mbappé has the combination of being one of the fastest players in the world, the best dribblers and has a frightening ability to score goals, all of which makes him one of the best players and most clinical forwards to ever play the game.
Mbappé’s Skills and Attributes
A great place to begin when explaining why Mbappé is so good, is his different skills and attributes. He demonstrates an array of both technical and physical attributes, which have helped him become one of the top percentile footballers to ever play the game.
Technical Skills
From a technical perspective, Mbappé acquires some great traits, including dribbling proficiency, precise ball control, as well as accurate shooting.
Dribbling Proficiency
One of the first things that springs to mind when discussing Mbappé’s technical skills is his ability to dribble. The Frenchman is capable of dribbling with the ball at incredibly fast speeds, making it easy for him to glide past opposition defenders.
Accurate Shooting
As a natural-born goalscorer, it’s also beneficial for Mbappé to be able to shoot accurately when playing football matches. Having scored over 200 goals in 6 seasons whilst playing for French powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain, it’s safe to say that Mbappé knows how to put the ball in the net.
He’s capable of shooting with both feet and his head, too, making him even more of a threat as an attacking player. You can watch some of the brilliant goals he’s scored in Ligue 1 by watching the following video:
Precise Ball Control
Another facet to Mbappé’s technical skill set is his precise ball control. He’s able to receive long range passes from midfield players and can get the ball out of his feet incredibly quickly, giving defenders minimal amounts of time to try and tackle him.
Physical Attributes
Not only does Mbappé possess technical skills, he has a range of physical attributes that make him one of the most special players on the planet. These are the traits that are arguably most spoken about when fans and pundits discuss Mbappé. His physical attributes include – incredible speed and agility, acceleration and explosiveness, and exceptional balance and coordination.
Incredible Speed and Agility
Mbappé’s most talked about trait is his speed. Clocking record speeds, the forward is one of the quickest players in the world. By having this weapon in his locker, Mbappé’s pace is a threat for any defender when he makes runs in behind.
The Frenchman has clocked speeds of 36 km/h putting him in the list of the quickest players, which includes former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Manchester City’s Kyle Walker.
Acceleration and Explosiveness
What usually comes hand in hand with speed is acceleration, and this is no exception with Mbappé. Off the mark, he has frightening acceleration, which makes him incredibly hard to compete with over 5 or 10 yards.
Another elite talent with this particular trait is Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker is one of a few players who can challenge Mbappé’s pace over a short distance.
Exceptional Balance and Coordination
What compliments Mbappé’s speed and acceleration so well, is his exceptional balance and coordination on a football pitch. When moving at such fast speeds, balance can often be hard to come by for football players, especially if they have the ball at their feet.
This isn’t a problem for Mbappé though, whether he has the ball at his feet or not, he’s able to maintain great balance and coordination.
Psychological Traits
To become an elite footballer, you not only need to have the physical and technical ability, but you also need to be incredibly strong mentally. Kylian Mbappé is destined to go to the top because of this, as he demonstrates ambition and determination, as well as confidence and self-belief.
Ambition and Determination
Similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappé believes that he is the best player in the world, and this is reflected in the way that he plays. He purposely sets himself the highest goals, and works tirelessly in order to achieve them.
Having won a World Cup at the age of 19, as well as becoming the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history, it’s easy to see why Mbappé believes in himself. His ambition is to be the greatest player to ever play the game, win more World Cups, win several Champions League trophies, as well as Ballon d’Or awards.
It’s really hard to believe that he will slow down any time soon, as he has everything going for him and is only destined for more greatness.
Confidence and Self-Belief
Likewise to ambition and determination, Mbappé has confidence and self-belief well beyond his years. Having played on the biggest stages before he’s reached his mid 20s, he’s more than equipped to handle high pressure situations and performs well under high expectations.
His fearlessness can be reflected in his performance during the 2022 World Cup final. He scored a hat trick that evening and still ended up on the losing side, however in the process he broke several records, including becoming the outright top goalscorer in World Cup finals, with four goals.
We expect that the French forward’s confidence will only continue to grow as he starts to enter his prime years.
Impact on the Football World
Despite having many years ahead of him in his football career, Kylian Mbappé’s impact on the football world has been nothing short of staggering.
Success at Club Level
Contribution to as Monaco’s Ligue 1 Title
During the 2016/17 Ligue 1 season, Mbappé was playing his second season of senior football for Monaco. It turned out that this would be a historic season for the French club, as they won the Ligue 1 title.
Although Mbappé was just 17 and 18 years old throughout this season, he was a driving force behind why Monaco performed so well on both the domestic and European stages. In the league, he scored 15 goals in 29 appearances, as well as scoring 6 in 9 Champions League matches.
In total, he contributed 26 goals in 44 matches, which is an incredible return for someone of Mbappé’s age at the time.
Achievements with Paris Saint-Germain
Mbappé signed for Paris Saint-Germain in a world record deal at the age of 18. His move to Paris was rumoured to be €145 million plus €35 million in add-ons. This made him the most expensive teenager ever, as well as potentially the second most expensive player ever, behind Brazilian forward Neymar.
As of the end of the 2022/23 season, the Frenchman has scored 212 goals in 260 appearances for PSG, scoring at a rate of 0.82 goals per game. One of Mbappé’s main targets while playing for Paris would have been to win the Champions League, however the club lost in the 2020 final, losing 1-0 to German big hitters Bayern Munich.
During his time at PSG, Mbappé has won the following honours:
- 5x Ligue 1 titles (2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22 and 2022/23)
- 3x French Cups (2017/18, 2019/20 and 2020/21)
- 3x French Supercups (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21)
- 2x French League Cups (2017/18 and 2019/20)
- 5x Ligue 1 top goalscorer (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23)
Having won all of this in just 6 seasons, as well as become PSG’s all-time top goalscorer, it’s safe to say that his time at the club has been an overwhelming success.
Outstanding Performances in International Competitions
As discussed previously, Mbappé isn’t just a beast at domestic level, as he’s already made history on the international stage playing for France. He’s played in two World Cup finals, winning one of them, he’s scored four goals in World Cup finals, which is a record, and became the sixth all-time top goalscorer in World Cup history with twelve goals, tied with Brazilian legend Pelé.
It’s frightening to think what records Mbappé will have broken by the time he retires from international football, which isn’t going to be any time soon. It’s likely that he’ll be able to play at another 3 World Cups, if he keeps himself fit and injury-free, and that means he can go on to break many more records.
Conclusion
Why is Mbappé so good? Kylian Mbappé is a once in a generation talent, a player you put in the same group as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland. These players belong in the top percentile of footballers for a reason.
With his incredible goalscoring record, blistering pace, acceleration and impressive balance, if somebody could create the profile of an unbeatable football player, they’d probably come up with something scarily similar to Mbappé’s profile.
Having been really successful on both the domestic and international stages already, Mbappé’s only unfinished business remains on the European stage, but this is something we think he’ll change in the not so distant future.
All eyes are on the Frenchman to see how far he can go and whether he can get anywhere close to challenging Messi and Ronaldo for their legacies left on the beautiful game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Faster Messi or Mbappé?
Kylian Mbappé is by far the faster footballer, when comparing him to Argentine Lionel Messi. Although Messi is technically the better player, speed isn’t everything, and Messi is more renowned for his dribbling and goalscoring abilities. Mbappé’s pace put’s him in the top percentile of fastest football players on the planet, achieving speeds of up to 36 km/h.
