My Bhoyhood dream began with Mbappe
Now Edouard set to face £166m pal
THIS amicable rivalry first began on worn public pitches dotted around the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. It will soon be renewed in the more rarefied surroundings of the Champions League.
Odsonne Edouard knew Kylian Mbappe long before Paris Saint-Germain’s new superstar became the world’s most expensive teenage footballer. Before either was a teenager at all, in fact.
They were neighbourhood friends as schoolboys. Two young strikers whose talents demanded attention. Celtic newcomer Edouard played for Bobigny. Mbappe was with Bondy, just across the A3 autoroute, where his father was a coach.
By the time Edouard was 13, he was in the PSG academy. Mbappe joined the esteemed national football centre at Clairefontaine. Within a few years, both were part of the France Under-19 squad.
Then came Mbappe’s remarkable breakthrough season with Monaco, which reset Champions League records for goalscoring feats at a young age. Every elite club on the planet wanted his signature.
On Thursday, PSG confirmed the 18-year-old’s arrival on a loan deal that precedes a £166million permanent transfer next summer. Only his new colleague Neymar, at £198m, has ever cost more.
Given their history, there was a certain irony in Mbappe arriving in the French capital just as Edouard departed. The 19-year-old — he is the older of the two by 11 months — was busy concluding the formalities of a season-long deal with Celtic.
They won’t be apart for long, however. On September 12, Mbappe will be part of the PSG squad that visits Parkhead for the opening game in Champions League Group B.
‘I actually know Kylian very well because we are childhood friends,’ recalled Edouard at Celtic Park yesterday.
‘We used to live very close to each other but we didn’t play for the same clubs. So from the start there was a rivalry between the two different boys clubs.
‘It’s a really good thing that he has signed for PSG, he deserves it. He had a fantastic season last year. It’s a good thing for him and for PSG.
‘For me, the key thing is to focus on what is happening next week, making sure I train hard, I work hard and then, potentially, play.’
Even so, Edouard would relish following the example of Patrick Roberts last season by scoring against his parent club in Europe’s most renowned competition.
‘It will be a bit bizarre, certainly different,’ he said of the prospect of facing PSG. ‘The atmosphere will be something special because the Champions League here at Celtic Park is big.
‘Ever since I was a kid, I have dreamed of playing in the Champions League and, on top of that, playing against my parent club is going to be very special if I am involved.
‘I want to score in every game I play — so for this game, if I can score, I’ll score.
‘Normally there is nothing in the contract that says you can’t play, so I don’t see a problem. Last year exactly the same situation happened in the French league, when I was playing for Toulouse on loan and did play against PSG. But I didn’t score.’
Celtic have an option to buy Edouard at the end of the loan but he is refusing to think that far ahead. His priority is simply to make an impact as quickly as he can. Top scorer at the Under-17 European Championships two years ago, he dreams of joining Mbappe at the summit of the game.
‘Every footballer has that kind of ambition, to become a great player — a really big player in Europe.
‘I am no different in that respect. To be more specific, my key aim at the moment is to be selected for the French national team at some point in the future.
‘My objective, really, is to make progress. To improve myself as a player.
‘The only way you are going to do that is by playing matches — real matches in the first team. So this is why I went to Toulouse last year. And this is why I have now joined Celtic this season.’
Glasgow provided a couple of persuading factors. The words of Brendan Rodgers proved alluring, with the Celtic manager travelling to Paris to meet Edouard nine days ago. Then there is the example provided by Moussa Dembele.
‘Moussa comes from the PSG academy as well and, when you look at his career so far, then him coming here is an example to every player going through that academy,’ said Edouard.
‘He gives everyone motivation by seeing how he has grown and how he has improved. He has become a really good player and, in coming here, I am looking forward to learning a lot from him in terms of his development.
‘I’m very happy to be here. What attracted me to Celtic first of all was what I know about the atmosphere in the stadium but the coach and the management team also played a part.
‘Brendan Rodgers met me in Paris last week and we talked a lot about football but also had some chat about other things.
‘What really influenced my decision to come to Glasgow, though, was that they came with a project built around me. It wasn’t just about playing for Celtic — it was a project about how they intend to develop me as a player.’
He is also keen to grasp the opportunity to develop as a person. Edouard was handed a four-month suspended jail sentence for his part in an air-gun incident — in which a passer-by was shot with a pellet from the window of a car — while at Toulouse in February. He was also fined and had his loan agreement terminated as a result.
‘The season at Toulouse was one where I really learned a lot,’ said Edouard. ‘It was my first time living outside Paris and it was also my first time as a first-team professional.
‘I know I’ve made some mistakes but it’s all behind me and I’m really concentrating now on the future — that is what’s important to me.
‘I didn’t worry for my career but it really forced me to think hard about what’s important. You could probably describe it as something bad which led to something good.’