Tobias Sylvester
Kylian Mbappé, 19 showed class when he donated all his £380,000 World Cup pay to charity. The French star and Paris Saint-Germain forward has finally revealed why he did it.
The football star earned a global recognition after his impressive performances at the World Cup, especially the crucial role he played in helping France to beat Croatia 4-2 in the final clash at the Luzhniki Stadium in July.
After the World Cup tournament, the young star was paid £380,000, but he went ahead and donated all his £380,000 World Cup pay to Premiers de Cordee, a charity organization that gives free sports instruction to hospitalized and disabled children in sports.
During an interview with Vivienne Walt from TIME, he revealed why he donated all his pay to the charity organization. He said:
‘I did not need to be paid. I was there to defend the colors of the country.’
‘Also, I earn enough money – a lot of money. So I think it is important to help those who are in need. A lot of people are suffering, a lot of people have diseases. For people like us, giving a helping hand to people is not a big thing.
‘It doesn’t change my life, but it changes theirs. And if it can change theirs, it is a great pleasure.
‘I gave the money to the charity where I am a sponsor [Mbappe sponsors the French charity Premiers de Cordée] because being handicapped is something difficult. Showing them that they can do sports like everyone it is something close to my heart.
“Kylian, he’s a great person,” Sebastien Ruffin, general manager of Premiers de Cordee, told Le Parisien. “When his schedule allows it, he intervenes for us with pleasure. He has a very good [relationship] with children, he always finds the right [words] to encourage them. I sometimes even feel that [he] takes more pleasure to play with the kids than the kids themselves.”
