Do we like Kylian Mbappé?
Our score: 8 out of 10. He's on the right side of the harm question and gives his bonuses away, and the marks against him are one clumsy joke and a closed allegation.
The nastiest thing ever pinned near his name was in late 2024. Swedish media alleged he was the subject of a rape and sexual assault investigation in Stockholm. Prosecutors never named a suspect and closed the case for insufficient evidence, saying nobody had been notified of suspicion. Mbappé said he had not received any summons and was not involved.
Then there's the money stoush. In December 2025 a Paris labour court ordered PSG to pay him more than €60 million in unpaid wages and bonuses, though it rejected his argument that his fixed-term contract should count as permanent. PSG said it acted in good faith and reserved its right to appeal. It's a very rich man fighting a very rich club, so pick your own side.
On the harm check, he comes out well. He has warned against the far right in his own voice: in a May 2026 Vanity Fair interview he rejected the idea that footballers should "shut up and play". Marine Le Pen's party and its leader Jordan Bardella mocked him for it. I found nothing from him against LGBTQ+ people, women or the planet, though that's thin ground on climate.
At the World Cup, a Paraguayan senator's posts about him after France's win drew a Paris prosecutors' probe into aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred, after a complaint from the French football federation. The federation called her remarks "utterly abhorrent". Mbappé called her a "despicable woman". She said she regretted some of her remarks and deleted the posts.
The good stuff is real. He says he has never kept a France bonus since 2018 and has given them all away, including to Premiers de Cordée. He also co-founded a youth education association in 2020. In his words: "It's important to help those in need."
The Mao-meme remark is the stain. He didn't name Mao, but the clip showed the former Chinese leader's picture, and three sponsors walked. He apologised, saying he has deep respect for the Chinese people and their history. It reads as a dumb joke, not a worldview, but it cost him and it hurt people.