The inspiring story of French football! Mbappe has a lot of money 19-year-old Kamavenga has a Champions League title

Where there are people there are rivers and lakes, every player's choice is different, some love money, some love honor. For French football, there has been a wealth of talent in recent years. Mbappe's transfer soap opera has come to an end this summer, opting to earn more money rather than join Real Madrid, where he would be closer to winning the Champions League and the Ballon d 'Or. And the selection of 19-year-old French midfielder Kamavenga has become an inspirational story in football.

Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the early hours of May 29 Beijing time to win the Champions League for the 14th time in the team's history. The 19-year-old French midfielder Camavinga came off the bench to win his first Champions League title.

Kamavenga's parents are from the Democratic Republic of Congo and fled to refugee camps because of the Angolan civil war. Kamavinga, 19, was born on Nov. 10, 2000, in a refugee camp in Angola, near the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kamavenga, one of five siblings, moved to France with his parents when he was 2. When he was 11, his family was caught in a fire that incinerated most of its possessions. Despite his family background, Kamavenga stuck with football and joined the Rayon Academy at the age of 11, signing his first professional contract in 2018 and becoming the youngest player ever to play professionally.

Kamavenga joined Real from Rennes in the summer of 2021 for a variable fee of €31 million + (up to €40 million) and has played 40 games in all competitions so far this season, scoring two goals and two assists as a defensive midfielder.

After Real Madrid won the Champions League, Camavinga took his younger brother for a photo with the Big Ears Cup (Photo 1). As an older brother, Camavinga can be a role model for his younger brother, and perhaps help him achieve his dream of being an emperor. Camavinga refused the high salary of Paris before, resolutely left the French League and chose to join Real Madrid. In just one year, he won the Champions League, which is no amount of money can buy. Kamavenga has the joy of winning the Champions League that Mbappe may never grasp.

In a sense, Mbappe was the face of France's exit. As one of the hottest stars in European football, Mbappe's failure has shocked the international media. "Goodbye Mbappe! "Is the headline in the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "Crazy! Swiss newspaper Baselle wrote: "Sommer saves Mbappe's penalty!" A number of sports media outlets have taken Mbappe's head down in silence as a front-page picture.

In Mbappe's hometown, Le Parisien wrote under the headline "Disillusionment" : "Mbappe loses to Swiss goalkeeper in suffocating penalty shootout. The world champion lost in disgrace." La Provence ran the headline "The ship sinks" and said: "Mbappe lost point, world title dream shattered." The Free South newspaper ran a picture of a heartbroken Mbappe under the headline "Slap in the face". Even the American media got in on the fun: "Mbappe scoring zero goals in the Euros is like French center Gobert blocking zero shots in an NBA playoff game," StatMuse wrote after France's loss to Switzerland.

In a poll of fans by French media RTL before the tournament, 24 percent of French fans voted Kante as their favorite national team player, followed by Kylian Mbappe (23 percent) and Griezmann (15 percent). In a poll of all French people, Mbappe was their favourite French player (24%), followed by Griezmann (18%) and Kante (13%), Giroud (8%) and Benzema (6%).

From beloved star to deplorable sinner, it was ostensibly a reaction to Mbappe's crucial moment in the Swiss defeat. In fact, he was off his game from the start. The Paris striker has hit 14 goals in four European Cup matches without scoring a single goal. In 390 minutes played, he missed four great scoring chances, produced only one penalty and one assist. Against Switzerland, Mbappe missed all five of his shots and succeeded only two of his six attempts.

His slide had already begun

In fact, in seven appearances for France so far this year, Mbappe has scored only once, in a friendly against Wales. The expectation was that Mbappe would come into the final match with a repeat of his breakout performance at the World Cup three years ago, but the brutal reality was that he continued his poor form.

Unlike his debut at the World Cup in Russia, where Mbappe was hailed to the skies by the French, opponents are taking more care of the French striker on the pitch. The breakthrough of Mbappe, often in the face of two or three defenders encircled. Deschamps has recalled Karim Benzema, who is more agile up front, with the intention of finding holes in the opposition defence more quickly by linking the Real Madrid striker with Mbappe. But that is also why the spectacle of France winning the World Cup with Giroud as a bridgehead to draw fire, draw heavy troops and open up space for Mbappe has been lost in this Gaul competition.

On a personal level, there is no doubt that Mbappe left the tournament in a state of unwillingness. Before the final, he publicly exchanged words with Giroud, arguing about the lack of support for strikers on the pitch, and completely lost the humility of three years ago. Since then, both Mbappe and the players have changed the way they see themselves. Desailly has encouraged the Paris striker to become a "natural killer" by sticking less to the ball and focusing more on starting inside the box. That advice may be the origin of Mbappe's preference for going it alone this season.

Digging deeper, Mbappe's unsettled professional future has also undermined his mindset for the big games. He wanted to leave Paris in search of a new challenge, but was forcefully blocked by the club. The tricky transfer business seeped into Mbappe's head and into France's pre-match press conference.

The fifth player in a penalty shoot-out is often the difference between life and death, and sometimes the game is decided before a shot is even taken. Deschamps consoled the Paris striker after the match: "He dared to take that penalty. No one was really angry with him." However, fans noticed that none of Mbappe's team-mates stepped in to console him after he missed the penalty. Deschamps said: "The dressing room is still united. No one said anything like, 'You're wrong.'"

According to French media RMC, the No10 returned to the dressing room after the match to apologise to his team-mates in person. After the match, Mbappe took to social media to express his apology to the French fans: "I'm sorry for the penalty. I wanted to help the team, but I lost and it will be difficult for me to sleep. But it is the ups and downs on the football field that make me love football more. I want to thank you for your continued faith in me."

It's not easy being Pele

Pele also took to social media to encourage the frustrated Mbappe: "Keep your head up Kylian! Tomorrow is the first day of a new journey!" Mbappe was dubbed the "new Pele" after his performance in Russia.

Earlier in the group match against Portugal, Mbappe and his idol C Ronaldo met in the tunnel and swapped shirts. The two exchanged tributes and jokes. The disengaged Mbappe has been absent for some time. But you can't be a superstar without suffering. At the beginning of his career, Luo was criticized as a showman. At the World Cup in South Africa, Messi, who was already the Golden Ball player, scored zero goals in five games, but the setback made Messi stronger. For the next 10 years, he helped Barcelona win titles in a row, and he went on to win gold MEDALS, not to mention breaking scoring records.

Before the final, Mbappe took time out to connect with a European Space Agency astronaut on the space station, Gerard Pesquet from Rouen, France. Pesquet, naturally, is rooting for France to win. Mbappe shared his thoughts on pressure with his compatriots in space: "You are under a lot of pressure and it must be scary to know that one little mistake can stop you from pursuing your dreams. The players are much more comfortable, but they are also anxious and say to themselves, 'I hope everything is OK and nothing bad can happen'."

This summer, taking advantage of the early holidays, Mbappe should open the window, look up into space more, and be more immersed in the sea of stars.