Kylian Mbappe: Remembering the Boy Wonder's First Year as a Professional

2 December, 2015 - the day that Kylian Mbappé broke his first record in professional football, becoming Monaco's youngest ever first-team player at the age of 16 years, 347 days.

The previous record holder? Some guy called Thierry Henry, who turned out to be a pretty handy player himself.

Most of the time, young players who are heralded as potential superstars of the future sink without trace, as those around them are propelled to greatness. But in Mbappé's case, his rise to superstardom was guaranteed - a journey that really got started two months later, when he scored his first senior goal for Monaco in a 3-1 win over Troyes.

At the tender age of 17 years and 62 days, he became the youngest first-team goalscorer in the club's history - displacing the legendary Henry once again.

Mbappé was born in the suburbs of Paris and played for his local team, AS Bondy, coached by his father Wilfrid.

He eventually moved to the famous Clairefontaine academy where a host of European giants witnessed him put in countless impressive performances. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City - along with every single Ligue 1 side - were all rumoured to be interested and after a trial at Chelsea, a 14-year-old Mbappe settled on Monaco.

"He was born into football and sport. His father was a youth leader, working with children in the local area and then he was brought in to AS Bondy," Atmane Airouche, president of AS Bondy told BBC Sport.

"Other players think that once they've signed for a club or gone to Clairefontaine they've achieved something, that they've arrived. But no, the hard work is only just starting and Kylian knew that."

Antonio Riccardi, the Under-13s coach at AS Bondy, also recalled how Mbappe had a natural ability. "Kylian could do much more than the other children. His dribbling was already fantastic and he was much faster than the others.

"He was the best player I've ever seen in 15 years coaching here. Nobody has even come close. In Paris, there are many talents but I'd never seen a talent like him. He was what we call a 'craque' (the best)."

It was during the 2016/17 campaign that the world saw Mbappé's talent come to life, as throughout his breakout season at Monaco, the footballing world witnessed a season-long exhibition of collective hard work over individual talent - with a teenager at the heart of it.

Monaco's collection of youthful, vibrant competitors racked up an incredible 107 goals in 38 Ligue 1 games. Mbappé was responsible for 15 of those, adding a further 11 assists to his name. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

On 21 February 2017, Mbappé made his first impression on the continent after he scored his maiden Champions League goal against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. He became the second-youngest Frenchman to score in the competition's history behind Karim Benzema, during a run that would see the south coast club reach the semi-finals.

Just a few weeks later, Mbappé was entering the record books again as he scored two first-half goals in the 4–0 win over FC Nantes to bring his Ligue 1 career tally to ten goals - becoming the youngest player in the last 30 years to hit that total in the top division.

A magnificent few months was capped by a first call up to the senior international setup, as Mbappé was selected by France manager Didier Deschamps to compete in a World Cup qualification doubleheader.

He made his debut on 25 March against Luxembourg in a 3–1 away win and in doing so, became the second-youngest player ever to feature for France aged just 18 years, three months and five days old.

Mbappé's magical season was encapsulated by Monaco's remarkable toppling of the newly Qatari owned Paris Saint-Germain - who had a fifth consecutive title in their sights on the eve of the 2016/17 season - to seal an eighth Ligue 1 crown. Not only were the principality club back on the world stage, they had a young prince leading them to glory.

26 goals and 15 assists in all competitions led to Mbappé being named in the UEFA Team of the Season and also saw him claim the UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award.

Inevitably, PSG parted with a whopping £166m to snare Mbappé from their rivals; if you can't beat them, buy them, right? In doing so, Monaco meandered back into the wilderness, while the Frenchman would continue his ascension to the very top of the game - leading his country to World Cup glory less than three years after he first entered the professional ranks.

Now, he's the poster boy of football.