'I am Portuguese' - Mbappé's mother reveals sons admiration for Ronaldo led him to imagine he was from Portugal

It's widely known that Cristiano Ronaldo was Kylian Mbappé's childhood idol, famously depicted in a photo of his bedroom adorned with a CR7 poster and another showing a teenage Mbappé alongside Ronaldo.

However, the extent of his devotion, to the point of claiming Portuguese nationality, might be a new revelation.

According to an interview with L'Équipe Magazine, via Abola, his mother, Fayza Lamari, stated that at one point during his childhood, the forward declared himself... Portuguese.

When asked about the admiration her son now inspires in children, Fayza Lamari drew a parallel to Kylian's own youthful admiration for Zinedine Zidane, which was later 'replaced' by CR7.

Kylian reacted with the same enthusiasm when he met Zidane. When he met him at 14, he told me, ‘Mom, he touched my jacket, I’m never going to wash it again.’

"I know what meeting an idol can mean to a child," explained the mother and agent of the Real Madrid forward, who, during his Bernabéu presentation, also drew inspiration from Ronaldo's own unveiling at the same venue in 2009.

"It started with Zidane, at 4 years old," she said about her son's idols. "Then, CR7 came along, when he arrived at Manchester and then Real. At that time, Kylian was Portuguese in his head. He would go to a friend's dad's house to watch Portugal's games and cheer for Ronaldo. (laughs) He was spellbound and would say: ‘I am Portuguese.’" Later, Robinho and Ronaldinho also became inspirations.

But did he 'stay Portuguese' for a long time? "A very long time. I won't say his age, because he'll get upset. But it lasted a long time," she confirmed.

"He has always been my idol since I was a child. Now I can say I'm lucky enough to have a friend who gives me advice. We are in contact. It's truly a privilege. He made history at Real Madrid. He gave me advice on how to work, stay focused on the game, and maintain that passion for football," Mbappé said around the time of his presentation.