Kylian Mbappe has never made any secret about who his footballing idol was when growing up.
Despite lining up with Lionel Messi at the Parc des Princes, the Paris Saint-Germain forward has always looked up to the Argentine's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Well, I've had phases. To start, as a child, it was Zidane. If you're a boy and you're French, your idol is Zidane,” Mbappe said.
"After that, it was Cristiano [Ronaldo], and I've been lucky enough to face him. Then it was the Brazilian Ronaldo for the way he played.
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"I want to leave that sort of a mark with my values, to leave a message in the history of football."
And he’s going a long way to making the same sort of impact as his sporting inspiration and recently paid tribute to him after reaching 100 league goals for PSG.
The 22-year-old brought up the milestone after just 124 Ligue 1 games and after scoring his latest against Monaco, he repeated the same celebration Ronaldo did when scoring his 100th for Manchester United back in 2008.
The tribute led some optimistic United fans to dream of the two superstars linking up, with the Frenchman set to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Mbappe will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with clubs from outside of France from January 1.
But despite his respect for the United forward, his club allegiances lie with his former side Real Madrid, as described the player’s father Wilfried.
"He is a Real Madrid fan and his idol is Cristiano Ronaldo," he told France Football back in 2016. "He used to spend hours watching videos on the internet."
Madrid launched three separate attempts to sign Mbappe during the summer window, with the Parisians unwilling to let him go without a fight.
PSG sporting director Leonardo recently suggested there was still a chance Mbappe could sign a new deal in the French capital, but only if the club also agree to it.
"If Mbappé decides to stay, he will stay, because that is our wish too,” Leonardo explained. “It is a complicated situation, as we would like him to stay, but we have to respect his position. I think there is still a chance that he will renew."
