Kylian Mbappé is one of the most talked about stars playing in the 2026 World Cup. And his soccer skills didn't come out of nowhere.
The 27-year-old French professional soccer player has an athletic family. His mom, Fayza Lamari, was a professional athlete. His dad, Wilfrid Mbappé was a youth soccer coach. And his brothers, Ethan and Jirès Mbappé, both played professional soccer.
As Kylian and the French team prepare to take on Spain in the semi-finals of the World Cup, learn more about the family that helped him make it there.
© Getty ImagesKylian's mom, Fayza Lamari, was a professional athlete
Fayza, 51, is a former professional handball player. During the late 1990s, she competed in the French first division for the club in Bondy.
"She was a symbolic figure of the handball club of Bondy," Jean-Louis Kimmoun, the club's former president, told Le Parisien in 2017 (via The Athletic). "She grew up just opposite our playing hall and many of her brothers played for the club. On the court, she was a fighter and sometimes things got quite rough when she met her opponents. Many of them remember playing against Fayza."
© Getty ImagesWilfrid Mbappé was a youth soccer coach
When he was just six years old, Kylian joined the AS Bondy's youth team and dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. He watched his dad coach his older brother and knew that he wanted to be just like them.
“[My dad] was coaching my big brother, and all the time, I went to the stadium and I was like, 'Yeah I wanna do like them,'" Kylian told WSJ. Magazine in September 2022.
© Getty ImagesKylian's parents are his biggest supporters
Wilfrid was born in Cameroon, while Fayza, who is of Algerian descent, is French. The couple raised their sons in the Northern French city Bondy, encouraging them to follow their dreams.
In 2021, Wilfrid and Fayza announced their separation.
"My parents' divorce was in the press? Yes. My parents are adults. Was it exposed to everyone? Yes, it's not normal at all. And then it was discussed on TV, on a regular talk show," Kylian said of his parents' divorce on the French talk show Clique (via Le 10 Sport) in March 2025. "It was a national divorce, a French divorce. My parents' divorce is a French divorce."
But, regardless of their relationship status, Wilfrid and Fayza show up for their son. The two are regularly spotted at Kylian's games and most recently were seen together at the 2026 World Cup games in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
© Getty ImagesWilfrid and Fayza help run Kylian's firms
The former couple work together on Kylian's professional contracts. His dad acts as a soccer advisor to his son, while Fayza handles contract negotiations and is the president of Kylian's company, Interconnected Ventures.
"The Mbappe project is first and foremost a family project led by his mother and father," Delphine Guegan, the family's professional advisor, told The Athletic. "During [Kylian's] first professional season, the entourage was structured and gradually professionalised. It has become a small, attentive and benevolent family business, lucid about the world of soccer and its shortcomings."
© Getty ImagesLike Kylian, his brother Jirès Mbappé was a professional soccer player
Jirès was born on January 8, 1988 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. When he was six, his mom sent him to France for school, choosing to remain in Kinshasa. While growing up in France, he was adopted by Wilfrid and Fayza.
Jirès played professional soccer for 13 years for clubs like Rennes and Al Nasr. He retired in 2019.
© Getty ImagesKylian and his brother Ethan Mbappé were teammates
Eight years after Wilfrid and Fayza welcomed Kylian, Fayza gave birth to Ethan. And he is a rising star. The 19-year-old shared the field with his big brother in 2023 when he was signed to play with Paris Saint-Germain.
On December 20, 2023, the two made their debut together and embraced on the field. A year later, both players left PSG, but they still cheer each other on.
Ethan now plays for Lille and made his first start in a UEFA Champions League game on March 4, 2025. Kylian celebrated his little brother's big moment on Instagram. And Ethan has been spotted across the United States cheering on Kylian in the World Cup.
