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Ethan Mbappé - the Lille midfielder stepping out of his brother's shadow

So often during Kylian Mbappé's PSG years, his younger brother Ethan would watch on as Kylian lit up Ligue 1 McDonald's. The roles were reversed on Sunday night.
L. ENTWISTLE
Published on 10/06/2025 at 12:30
3-minute read
Ethan Mbappé came off the bench to net Lille's equaliser against PSG on Sunday night.

So often during Kylian Mbappé's PSG years, his younger brother Ethan would watch on as Kylian lit up Ligue 1 McDonald's. The roles were reversed on Sunday night.

Remember the name!

With Kylian already a household name before Ethan Mbappé made his professional debut, the latter has understandably always been compared to the former. However, in a recent interview, Kylian recently stated how happy he was that Ethan was a midfielder, rather than a forward, which prevents a direct comparison between the two brothers. 

Ethan came through PSG's academy at the time that his brother was playing for the first-team. Whilst the younger Mbappé would go on to make his professional debut for Les Parisiens, he would not go on to establish himself. He was somewhat collateral damage in Kylian's departure to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. 

But Kylian said that he was ready to forsake his dream of playing for Los Blancos. "I told him, if you want to stay [at PSG], I would have given up my Madrid dream, for him," however, both Mbappé brothers left PSG that summer, with Ethan joining Lille. 

But it wasn't an easy debut season at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, as injuries limited him to just 14 appearances in all competitions. He underwent surgery earlier this year, too, which meant that he was not fit for the start of the current campaign, either. 

As he builds up his fitness, Bruno Genesio is showing caution. However, in the limited minutes that he has had, Mbappé has impressed for Les Dogues. He came off the bench to net an injury-time winner against Toulouse earlier this season, and he made an impact coming off the bench again against his former club PSG.

With his brother Kylian in the stands, he was brought on with just nine minutes remaining and would come back to haunt his former side, netting the equaliser with a neat finish into Lucas Chevalier's far corner. 

Cue the celebrations from Kylian, whose joy for his brother outshone any sentiment for his former club, and the celebration from Ethan, which was à-la-Kylian. "A mad script," added the Real Madrid forward.

A goal every 20 minutes for Mbappé

At 18 years old, it certainly had the feel of a coming-of-age moment for Ethan. He is a player whose name cannot be uttered in a sentence without mention of his brother, the captain of the France national team. But whilst there was the tribute to Kylian through his celebration, it was an assertion of Ethan's uniqueness as a player, the moment that he stepped out of the shadow. 

Ethan will now be looking to kick on for Lille. He is averaging a goal every 20 minutes, a result of his limited minutes, something he will look to change. As he builds back to full fitness, Mbappé will also look to build his reputation. Remember the name! Not the surname, the first name - Ethan.

READ MORE 

>> Lille salvage draw against PSG

>> Ilan Kebbal - the creative spark of Paris FC's return to Ligue 1 McDonald's

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