The star striker of Paris Saint-Germain and the French football team, Kylian Mbappé, arrived Thursday, July 6 in Cameroon, the country of his father for an exceptional three-day visit. His arrival was a real explosion. The French player was given a standing ovation by hundreds of fans who were waiting for him at the airport in Yaoundé, the capital. Many wearing the PSG jersey, screaming his name too, everyone wanting to touch him, take their picture with him… Mbappé first greeted a hundred traditional dancers who were performing, an event supervised by a hundred police and gendarmes .
“It is a pride as a Cameroonian, because he is a Cameroonian by origin, but it is also an honor to be able to see the best player in the world”, enthused at the airport Arsène Pinlap, 37 years old , president of the PSG fan club in Yaoundé, came as a delegation.
“We are proud to see our Cameroonian brother. We want to give him a very warm welcome,” added Vannel Kunde, a 16-year-old high school student.
“It is an immense joy for us children who love football” to welcome Kylian Mbappé to our country, choked Armelle Ntsama, an 18-year-old high school student.
Far from the Parisian tumult, and all smiles, the world football star greeted the crowd held at a distance by the police, then quickly rushed into an SUV with tinted windows which took the direction of Yaoundé.
He will stay during his visit for a few days in a hotel complex belonging to the family of former tennis player Yannick Noah, the last French winner of the Roland-Garros tournament in 1983, who has taken up residence in Yaoundé and who is one of the organizers of Mbappé’s tour.
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On Friday morning, he first went to a school for deaf and hard of hearing children of the Foundation for the Education and Promotion of Hearing Impaired People (FEPPDA) in Yaoundé, which he finances through his foundation. . On site, the 2018 world champion shared a game of football with children, before participating in the afternoon in a match against FC Vent d’Etoudi, a Cameroonian D2 club chaired by Yannick Noah.
According to his program, he will go this Saturday to Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, where he must visit a school, then will go to Djebalé, the village of his father Wilfrid Mbappé, born in Douala, but who left very early. Cameroon for France. “It is an opportunity for him to visit in Yaoundé and Douala the two schools rehabilitated by his association Inspired By KM (IBKM), to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors in Djebalé, to spend time with young Cameroonians” , detailed his entourage in Paris in a press release sent to AFP.
The French star also met “certain authorities of the country”, including the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, to “discuss all the projects he wishes to put in place in Cameroon”, according to the press release from the entourage of the Parisian striker.
This trip to Cameroon comes as relations between the star and PSG have been going through a complicated phase for several weeks. Mbappé extended in May 2022 at PSG for two seasons, until May 2024 therefore, plus an additional one, until 2025, an option which he is free to activate by July 31. The star striker has indicated his wish not to.
Club president Nasser al-Khelaïfi stepped up the pressure by saying on Wednesday that the 24-year-old international striker could not “leave for free” and that the alternative, in PSG’s eyes, was clear: either extend, or “the door is open” for a transfer. Questioned this Friday by a journalist, the attacker would have, according to the media on the spot, thus answered: “Kylian is in Cameroon for the moment and that is the most important. I want to make the most of my stay, to make the most of my vacation. I want to take advantage of all Cameroonians and all Cameroonians and that is my only concern. »
