There may be some bitterness from Monaco fans towards Kylian Mbappe as he turns out for Ligue 1 rivals Paris Saint-Germain this season, but few could have predicted his monumental rise to become such a key player at Stade Louis II.
The France international made his debut in December 2015, before sparkling in a further 59 first-team appearances in all competitions, scoring 27 goals, and then agreeing a loan move to PSG that is expected to end with him becoming the world s second most expensive player.
Mbappe was a key member of the Monaco squad that won the Ligue 1 title and reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2016-17, giving the club s supporters some memorable moments along the way.
We have picked out five of his best goals en route to superstardom.
Montpellier 1 Monaco 2 Ligue 1 February 7, 2016
This strike away at Montpellier showed the raw pace and finishing ability that have become Mbappe s trademark.
Running at a frightening speed from wide on the left, he left veteran defender Hilton in his wake and, as Geoffrey Jourden advanced to close the angle, slipped a cheeky finish through the goalkeeper s legs.
Manchester City 5 Monaco 3 Champions League February 21, 2017
The goal that announced Mbappe on the European stage came in a Champions League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
In his first start in the competition, the 18-year-old put his side 2-1 up five minutes before half-time with an emphatic effort. Catching a back-peddling City defence unaware, he rifled a superb, powerful effort high past Willy Caballero.
Youngest French scorers in the
1. Karim Benzema
2. Kylian Mbappé
— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague)
Marseille 3 Monaco 4 Coupe de France March 1, 2017
Proving he can do the damage without the ball, Mbappe displayed intelligent movement and a deft touch to notch in this extra-time victory.
He darted away from his marker and met Jemerson s grounded centre from the left at the near post, delicately angling the ball beyond Marseille goalkeeper Yoann Pele and into the far corner.
Borussia Dortmund 2 Monaco 3 Champions League April 12, 2017
After scoring twice against City in the last 16, Mbappe netted three times versus Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals and with his second strike in the away leg was the pick of the bunch.
Mbappe stole Lukasz Piszczek s pass ahead of Sokratis Papastathopoulos near the halfway line and raced clear, curling a delightful finish past Roman Burki s despairing drive from 20 yards.
WIN ! (2-3)
19’
35’ CSC Bender
78’ Mbappé
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN)
Monaco 2 Saint-Etienne 0 Ligue 1 May 17, 2017
This was Mbappe s final goal for Monaco and quite the way to sign off as his side won the title.
He ran in behind the Saint-Etienne defence, latching onto Radamel Falcao s pass before shaping to shoot with his right foot. Mbappe instead sat goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier down and coolly finished into an open goal with his left.
