Lille’s Coach Recently Favors Kylian Mbappé’s Brother; The Two Brothers Hope to Face Each Other in the Champions League

The recent Champions League draw was conducted in a thoroughly innovative manner, resulting in Real Madrid facing Lille at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium. This means there will be a showdown between the Mbappé brothers. Both have previously played for Paris Saint-Germain, but this could be their first meeting as opponents, having moved from Paris to Madrid and Lille respectively a few months ago.

Ethan Mbappé, now 17 years old, has been labeled as “Kylian Mbappé’s brother” over the past year. This midfielder made his professional debut in December last season during a match against Metz while he was under contract with Paris Saint-Germain. After playing alongside his brother on the field for five minutes, the club recognized the potential of this young midfielder and began negotiations for a renewal.

However, after Mbappé informed PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi in February that he would not renew his contract, Paris completely halted negotiations. Ethan was left out of Enrique’s squad, never receiving a renewal offer, and thus had to leave Paris to seek new opportunities.

This summer, Ethan Mbappé attracted interest from many European teams. In fact, Betis officially contacted the player’s mother, Fayza Lamari, hoping he would join them, but the young midfielder was already deep in talks with Lille. Lille, firmly supporting young talent, announced his signing in June. Mbappé expressed his blessing on social media, and since then, the two have parted ways at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ethan Mbappé performed excellently in Lille’s early games. Last weekend, he made his first professional start in the second round of Ligue 1 against Angers, putting in an impressive performance. His game improved progressively, controlling the midfield, and in the second half, he amazed everyone with a brilliant nutmeg move, catching the attention of head coach Bruno Genesio. He was substituted off in the second half, receiving unanimous applause from the Pierre Mauroy Stadium crowd.

Coach Genesio did not hesitate to give him playing time in the Champions League play-off match against Slavia Prague. It was a very tough match, with Slavia just one goal away from taking it to extra time, but Lille narrowly won 2-1. Ethan Mbappé’s presence injected fresh energy into the struggling team, helping them through the pressure of the 90 minutes. The newspaper ‘La Voix du Nord’ praised him, saying, “He is no longer just Kylian’s brother.” Ethan will make his Champions League debut this season, contributing as a useful player to help Lille return to the competition they missed for three years.