Michael Jordan’s impact transcended sports. The Bulls icon’s legacy is an inspiration to millions of people across the globe, including world-class athletes like French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe. However, idolizing the six-time NBA champion is easy. Following in his footsteps and being as tenacious as he was is arduous, as the forward learned when receiving an earful from Luis Enrique.
In a snippet from the second episode of a documentary titled ‘You Have No F**king Idea,’ which follows the Spanish coach’s first season in charge of French giants Paris Saint-Germain, he is seen berating Mbappe for his lack of defensive work rate in their game against his former team FC Barcelona. In his fiery rant, Enrique calls out Mbappe and uses the forward’s affection for Jordan to put across his view. He says,
“I read that you liked Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan grabbed all his teammates by the balls and started defending like a son of a b*tch.”
Enrique tells Mbappe that while Jordan was a prolific player on offense, he also led by example on defense. He explained to the forward that the Bulls icon took on tough defensive assignments, and showed his teammates that he was as willing, if not more, to do the dirty work to ensure the team won.
A lot of basketball players are universally admired by other athletes. Mbappe’s Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr. is a huge fan of LeBron Jamea and the late, great Kobe Bryant. But for Mbappe, Jordan is the pinnacle of basketball excellence.
Kylian Mbappe believes Michael Jordan is the best
During an interview in 2021, Mbappe talked about several people he looks up to. He included MJ on that list. Interestingly, the Jordan brand is the official sponsor of PSG jerseys. The French superstar stated that as he grew up, he started watching more great people to learn from them.
He said, “When you grow up, you admire a lot more people, even in other sports. The best [in basketball] …Michael Jordan. There’s only one.” Apart from MJ, the late, great Pele was one of the people he admired. The athlete that he followed since he was a kid was Cristiano Ronaldo. Mbappe has always had high praise for the Portuguese legend as one of his biggest inspirations.
In August 2021, when Lionel Messi joined PSG, Mbappe got an opportunity to play alongside another all-time great. One of the reasons why Mbappe is so successful at such a young age can be equated to the fact that he looked up to and learned from GOATs from different worlds.
