Here is Kylian Mbappé chasing Pelé, as it was called in Russia in 2018. Now, at 23, just one step away from his second world championship. The same as O Rei at that age, although the Brazilian had already repeated when he was 21. But he didn’t add the third until he was 29, so the Frenchman would even have room to surpass him in precocity. But for now, here’s Mbappé, yes, and while he’s chasing Pelé, a good chunk of the same weight of legend the Brazilian lived with has already reached him. What it meant to others and his country in particular, in addition to what he represented on the field.
When the Frenchman turned down Real Madrid’s juicy offer on May 21 and opted to re-sign with Paris Saint-Germain, a wail went around the white offices: ‘What’s the problem with a French player playing outside of France ? Didn’t it go well for Kopa, Zidane, Benzema…?
Months before the disappointment, they knew in Madrid that French President Emmanuel Macron had taken Mbappé’s stay in Paris as an almost personal patriotic mission. The footballer detailed the president’s urging in an interview with Sports Illustrated in November: “There were a couple of calls. Like in December, January, February, March…”.
A month after signing the new contract, Macron is committed to his commitment: “I believe that it is my responsibility as President to defend the country.”
There are already echoes linking it to the fate of Pelé. In 1961 several European clubs were interested in signing him, including Real Madrid and Juventus. In addition to the impression he made by winning the 1958 World Cup as a 17-year-old, Santos’ dazzling tours of Europe since 1959 whetted an appetite for the Brazilian.
The interest reached the ears of Janio Quadros, the short-lived President of the Republic, in office from January 31 to August 25, 1961. Alarmed at the possibility of his resignation, he set out to prevent it. The note he sent on April 10 to the president of the National Sports Council, João Mendonça Falcão, reproduced years ago by Globo, is kept in the Mineiro public archive: “I am concerned about the repeated hiring of Brazilian soccer players by foreigners Societies . Now they want to “import” Pelé too! This weakening of the world champion team must be avoided, because we are not interested in “exporting” our athletes. I’m waiting for action.”
Unlike Mbappé’s case, Pelé’s departure could affect the selection. This allowed footballers to play for the country in which they resided. Quadros became insistent, wanting to declare Pelé a “national treasure” so that he would not be exportable by law, although that status cannot be applied to humans.
In any case, Quadros’ focus extended to front pages and cafes, and Santos president Atié Jorge Curi emerged as the winner of the national mission: “The friend rest assured, Edson Arantes do Nascimento is non-negotiable.”
Like Quadros with Curi, Macron found an ally in Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, which is owned by the Qatar Sports Investment Fund. A few months later the World Cup was in sight and also the option for Mbappé to approach the legendary Pelé. The French President and that of PSG shared an interest in the footballer being crowned under their respective domains.
It wasn’t the first time France and Qatar had shared interests. A few days before the start of the tournament, FIFA President Joseph Blatter reported in an interview on the selection of the venue in 2010 how his plan to host this World Cup in the United States went awry: “A week earlier, the FIFA 2010 Congress [donde se decidieron las sedes de 2018 y 2022]Michael [Platini] He called me to say our plan wasn’t going to work. I had just been invited by French President Sarkozy.”
When Platini came to the presidency, there were Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, now Emir of Qatar, then heir. The ex-footballer had always claimed he would not support a World Cup in the emirate, but as he left lunch he phoned Blatter. The former Fifa president says he knows what happened: “It was about money. Six months after those meetings, Qatar bought fighter jets from the French for $14 billion.” The emirate’s fund had money left over to issue a blank check to Mbappé and keep him under Franco-Qatar rule throughout the World Cup. For his part, the footballer is serious “You can stay and thrive,” he told Sports Illustrated. “It’s great news for us because when I announced I was staying, a lot of people’s mentalities changed . People started saying, ‘Yeah, we don’t have to go out. You don’t have to leave the country.’
The reasoning is similar to that which helped keep Pele in Brazil. At the time, Santos could pay him as much as any other European club thanks to the international touring that had made them a sort of Harlem globetrotter at the time.
The connections between the two footballers go beyond the casual, statistical, or evocative. When Mbappé won the 2018 World Cup and became the youngest person to score in a final after the Brazilian, O Rei’s Twitter account wrote: “If Kylian keeps beating my records like this, I’ll have to dust off my boots again. ..”
When the Brazilian’s deteriorating health became known two weeks ago, the Frenchman wrote: “Pray for the king.” A few days later, he received a reply: “Thank you. I’m glad you can break another record of mine at this World Cup, my friend.” Mbappé is the top scorer under the age of 24 with nine goals at World Cups. The previous record was Pele’s seven.
Many Thanks, @KMbappe. Glad to see you breaking another of my records in this cup my friend! ❤️🙏🏾
— Pele (@Pele) December 8, 2022
The Brazilian and Frenchman have found this relationship between a legend being pursued by a potential legend to their advantage. Both meticulously craft the framework to get the best out of their own brands, for which who they associate with is crucial. Pelé, who’s been bankrupt a couple of times, has even charged in bad times for showing up on cruise ships to say hello and pose for hundreds of photos.
The architects of Mbappé’s career have intervened before. Just two months before the World Cup, the footballer refused to take part in various promotional events for the French federation. Image rights were already a fundamental aspect when negotiating his new contract with PSG, which he did not sign with Madrid. It has become customary in Qatar to hide the name of the sponsor of the best man in the game trophy, which it has won three times.
In 1966, when Pelé failed to win his third world title, injured and fed up with kicks, he announced it would be his last time. But before Mexico in 1970, the Brazilian dictator General Médici believed that Brazil could not go there without Pelé. He put in a lot of persuasion, and Pelé won his third world title.
En route to his second, Mbappé faced Macron in the dressing room after beating Morocco in the semifinals. “Our compatriots need simple and pure joy and sport, and football in particular, gives them that,” said the President. When the footballer was first crowned in Russia and comparisons to Pelé began, the images of Macron unleashed in the box rotated almost as much as Mbappé’s.
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