French Star Kylian Mbappé Donates World Cup Winnings to Charity
Kylian Mbappé, France’s breakout star of the 2018 World Cup, has stunned the world a second time in a rare feat of philanthropy, announcing donating his entire world cup winnings to charity.
Signed to Paris Saint-Germai in 2017 for £166 million, Mbappé’s memorable four goals in seven games helped France to win the trophy but also made Mbappe the second teenager to score in a world cup final, winning the cup after the legendary Brazilian soccer legend, Pele.
Now, the 19-year-old is planning to help hospitalized and disabled children have the chance to play by donating all of his World Cup earnings to the charity Premiers de Cordée, which provides free sports instruction for children with disabilities, according to the French news outlet L’Equipe. Mbappé, who has been supporting the association since 2017, felt that his World Cup winnings were better served helping a humanitarian cause, according to L’Equipe.
Mbappé earns approximately £17,000 ($19,915) per game, as well as an additional £265,000 ($310,2017) in bonuses he earned from France’s win, according to Sports Illustrated. Calculated as of Monday morning for Mbappé’s seven World Cup games and championship bonus, the French forward would be donating approximately $449,606, or £384,000.
On top of donating his earrings, Mbappé has been known to drop by the association to play with the children. “Kylian, he is a great person,” the general manager of the Premiers de Cordée, Sebastian Ruffin, told the French news outlet Le Parisien. “When his schedule allows it, he intervenes for us with pleasure, He has a very good relationship with the children—he aways finds the right [words] to encourage them.”
Mbappé seems to have inspired other members of France’s team. According to L’Equipe, some players are donating part of their earnings to fund an educational trip to Russia for 25 students of the Jean-Renoir College in Bondy.
