Until now, we still had to decipher the similarities, certainly obvious, in the game and the phenomenal career of these two men.
But this Friday evening, Kylian Mbappé has chewed up the work for us.
Executioner of Rennais in stoppage time, he wanted to celebrate his 12th goal of the season with a new joke.
Right hand wedged on the corner flag, right leg crossing that of the left, the look is playful… here he is paying homage to Thierry Henry, to his signature gesture for each of his goals in club or in the France team.
For those who did not understand, the PSG crack has given a layer on his social networks.
"Big Up Legend", he wrote in the caption of a snapshot bringing together the two attackers in full celebration.
Big Up Legend…😉 pic.twitter.com/7jI4obAd1Y
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) February 11, 2022
Mbappé has been blowing the world away for about five years.
Five years during which not an interview or almost does not pass without its similarities with Titi Henry being noted.
Originally from the Parisian suburbs (Bondy for the youngest, Les Ulis for the eldest), passed through the National Football Institute, trained in Monaco, world champions very early (19 years old for the youngest, 20 years old for the eldest) … the first lines of their CV can indeed overlap.
A snapshot dating from 2005 also goes up regularly on the web: that of the young Bondynois, poses at six years old in Clairefontaine with his idol summoned to the France team.
Thierry Henry and a young Kylian Mbappe (2005) pic.twitter.com/eRLAhPZpUw
— Ultra Futball ⚽ (@UltraFutball) January 7, 2020
“I wish he was still there.
It would have been easier”
The only big difference, Thierry Henry broke through to the top level a little later, which doesn't seem to hurt his pride.
As early as March 2017, he boasted of the unique talent of the nugget hatching on the Rock and already the author of a fabulous performance against Manchester City in the Champions League.
“The little one is smart and that, for me, is the sign of a guy who can go very far”.
Football IQ is particularly close to the heart of the Arsenal Gunners legend, and he brings it up every time it comes to Mbappé.
A jewel to cherish for his gifts of speed and percussion but also for his ability to play in tune, with or without the ball.
Read also“It should have been settled two years ago”: Thierry Henry criticizes the management of the future of Kylian Mbappé by PSG
“At some point, let's be happy that he's French.
And then let's be chauvinistic as well, as other countries can be with their stars.
We have one.
We have an outstanding player.
Let's be happy he's in France.
Now I wish he was still there.
It would have been easier, he let go in 2018, when he was on the bench on the Rock.
On the other hand, what do you want me to tell you?
Everyone talks about his dribbling, his ease, I've always talked about his intelligence.
His game intelligence, at his age.
I had rarely seen that.
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Funny and valuable exchanges live on television
From a simple exchange of pleasantries at the start, their complicity has grown stronger and has come to light over the past six months.
Henry has been having fun since the start of the school year as a consultant on Amazon Prime Video sets.
And does not miss an opportunity to question and often tease the best player in Ligue 1. In December, it is he who tickles him on his learning of Spanish.
Sign of his future Madrid destiny?
He is also the one who does not hesitate to express some reservations about his slow progress during his first steps in the capital.
Last weekend, after the success against Lille, the two still joked about the behavior of number 7 against a dribble from Hatem Ben Arfa.
"I didn't want to eat," confesses the Parisian, hilarious.
This privileged relationship is obvious to the delight of football lovers.
From there to put the youngest in the footsteps of the old?
Especially not.
It is a question of transmission, of sharing.
What to understand in this "You know what it is" slipped by Mbappé at the turn of an interview where he defends himself from being "selfish" and speaks of his personal requirement.
But don't talk to them about parentage.
"People compare us, and that doesn't seem very relevant to me.
For me, each player is unique.
Attention, I really like Mbappé, he is an exceptional player.
But he, it's him, and me, it's me, ”recalled Henry again in December in the magazine QG.
These live chats, as light as they are precious, will not last forever.
Just like undoubtedly a certain number of records in the viewfinder of Mbappé.
In the France team, Thierry Henry still holds that of top scorer in the France team (51).
Perhaps he will be behind the microphone the day his designated successor (24 goals) will score his 52nd in Blue.
