Kylian Mbappe reveals details of Chelsea trial as 11-year-old starred in scoolboy win over Charlton before snubbing Arsenal to join PSG
Arsene Wenger missed out on two Monaco stars this summer in 18-year-old Mbappe and £92m target Thomas Lemar
CHELSEA missed out on signing Kylian Mbappe after he starred for them as an 11-year-old in an 8-0 win over Charlton alongside some of their current stars.
The £166million PSG signing was taken to west London as a schoolboy where he played alongside England starlet Tammy Abraham and Jeremie Boga.
But the Blues missed their chance to sign him back in 2010 and he snubbed Arsenal this summer to join his boyhood Paris club.
Asked at his PSG unveiling if he remembered his Chelsea trip, Mbappe said: “It was a wonderful experience.
"Chelsea was the first great club, the first big club, that I went to visit.
"So it was a real discovery for me. We played against Charlton, I think, and we won maybe seven or eight nil.
“I also got to meet some of the first-team players – [Didier] Drogba, [Florent] Malouda – the French-speaking ones and took some pictures with them.
“An idea has been reinforced since I was a kid - not just because I went to Chelsea.
“I always thought: ‘I want to be there, I want to be one of those big players who is trying to give people fun out of the game.’
"And I have given everything to reach that objective.
“Now I am on the other side of the camera, on the other side of the TV. That’s the only difference.”
Arsene Wenger missed out on two Monaco stars this summer in 18-year-old Mbappe and £92m target Thomas Lemar.
But the France forward decided he would develop better at the Ligue 1 side where he is on loan for a season before completing his permanent switch.
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He explained:“Yes, I met with Arsene Wenger, who is a great coach.
“He has a great reputation here in France, he’s well-respected and knows how to develop young players. This was a real option for me. But, of course, Paris Saint-Germain was the main option.
“We weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of all the clubs but my family told me it had to be my decision and one I needed to make.
“It also had to be a long-term decision. So it was up to me and I decided to come here in order to develop.
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“Being here is like going back home for me.
“I used to come to this stadium when I was a boy to watch games. I was a football fan, a kid who loved football and when you are a kid from Paris there are only two stadiums – the Stade de France or the Parc de Princes – and that is what makes Paris so special.
“There is only one club in Paris so every Paris kid follows Paris Saint-Germain. And if that kid has money in his pocket he comes to games here.”