For admiring English football fans, there are the usual stories of near-misses. As an 11-year-old, he was invited over to Chelsea for a trial. He spent a week at the club's Cobham training ground, spending time with Didier Drogba and leading the line alongside Tammy Abraham - who spent last season on loan at Swansea - in an 8-0 victory over Charlton Athletic.
Arsene Wenger met Mbappe for talks last summer while the player himself says he said 'no' to Manchester City. Manchester United, meanwhile, scouted Mbappe in his mid-teenage years but manager Louis van Gaal could not be persuaded.
Former assistant manager Ryan Giggs said: 'I watched Mbappe and Gabriel Jesus for a year. I was watching them with the scout and it was a no-brainer. It was just like, 'Get them.' It would have been £5 million or something - get them, loan them back - and that's where the recruitment could have been better.'
He idolised the Real Madrid star and met with Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane last summer
There was a snub, too, for Real Madrid, despite several days training with the Spanish club and a meeting with Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mbappe made sensible decisions. He spent two years at Clairefontaine before joining Monaco at the age of 14, viewing the club as the most likely high-level, well-numerated place to receive opportunities.
He made his debut on December 2, 2015, breaking Thierry Henry's record to become the club's youngest player at 16 years and 347 days. At Monaco, the young starlet - still to pass his driving test - dismantled French defences one by one, scoring 26 goals in his first full season as the club won the French title.
The boy wonder then moved to Paris Saint-Germain last summer in a £166m transfer that began as a loan. The figures were eye-watering but the glare of the Parisian spotlight was focused more on Neymar. Some questioned Mbappe, wondering whether the financial prospects of PSG were a smarter move than Real Madrid or the Premier League.
He is revered by coaches across European and global football for his maturity and ability
Yet those who know Mbappe insist he remains grounded. President Macron invited him and Drogba for lunch at the the Elysee with the new Liberian President and former World Player of the Year George Weah earlier this year. They discussed the development of football in Africa and observers at the meal reflected that the 19-year-old belied his age with the maturity of his observations.
Macron has since tipped Mbappe to achieve 'beautiful things' when he finishes his career. Mbappe has donated his £17,000 international match fees to a charity for disabled children and, last month, he financed a trip to Russia for children from his local school, College Jean Renoir. For 10 days, the 25 teenagers went sight-seeing in Moscow and attended France's draw with Denmark and Morocco's match against Portugal. Mbappe also took time out of his World Cup preparations to spend time with the children in Russia.
'You never think you're speaking to an 18-year-old when you speak to him,' Wenger said. 'He could become the next Pele. He has no limits.'
He is branded the new Pele, but is quickly becoming an iconic brand of his own in Russia
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