Mbappe? I didn’t know him a year ago: De Bruyne

Kylian Mbappe announced his arrival to the world when France eliminated Argentina in a game where Mbappe tore Argentine defence apart.

While he had not been a household name while playing for French outfit Monaco and Paris-Saint Germain respectively during the past two seasons, he had showed his mettle before, against the big teams in the UEFA Champions League.

He almost single handedly destroyed Bayern Munich in a 3-0 hammering back in September last year. No game is however bigger than the one he is about to play with France -- the semifinal of the World Cup against Belgium. But even before that match, he had a hand in the downfall of one of Belgium’s current star Kevin De Bruyne in the UEFA Champions League.

Mbappe has been magnificent in the World Cup so far but Belgium midfielder and Manchester City star De Bruyne apparently had no knowledge of the French forward. That is until Mbappe scored in both legs of the Champions League tie against Manchester City two seasons ago – a Round of 16 tie that finished 6-6 on aggregate over two legs with Monaco going through on away goals.

“He’s become a star in France,” the 27-year-old told a news conference when discussing Mbappe, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain last August in a loan move since made permanent.

“When I was playing against Monaco he had only played about 10 matches. He hadn’t played a lot of football, to tell the truth.

“At that time I didn’t know him but now he’s been playing for a year and a half. He plays for a great team. He’s played a lot for France, he’s played a lot of Champions League. He’s a different player now.”

Having already stopped Mbappe’s PSG teammate Neymar on their way to the World Cup, De Buyne said that his side will look to stop Mbappe from playing. However, he warned that Mbappe is now ‘a different player’ than when he had faced the youngster.

“He’s a star for the next 15 years. He’s had a fantastic year – he can even improve, if that’s possible.

“He can be dangerous for us but we are going to try and stop him from playing.” De Bruyne concluded.