Though that wasn’t always the case, hardly a football fan on Earth wouldn’t recognize Kylian Mbappe. In reality, when he was just starting out in his career, the French superstar himself didn’t seem to have a firm identity. That comes after the Paris Saint-Germain talisman debuted with a completely different persona on FIFA’s Ultimate Team (FUT).

The fact that “Mbappe” isn’t the forward’s real last nаme, or at least the complete story, was unknown to many fans. And they didn’t know the trutҺ till they feasted their eyes on his older FUT cards from FIFA 16 onward. 

Before making his professional debut in 2015, the World Cup winner graduated from Monaco’s academy and went by Kylian Lottin. He completely dropped that portion of his nаme in 2017, just before he signed with PSG, much to the dismay of people who have trouble pronouncing foreign words.

At least, considering that Mbappe received an 81 speed rating even on his initial 63-rated bronze card in FIFA 16, the player’s speed was always evident. In the ensuing iteration of the game, he achieved a slight improvement to a 71-rated silver rating; nevertheless, his 74 dribbling and 62 physical metrics would not have pleased him.

It’s understood his father, Wilfrid, and younger brother Ethan – who is also at PSG – also dropped ‘Lottin’ around the same time. And the rest is history littered with success.

The switch obviously hasn’t hampered Mbappe in the slightest as he’s won six Ligue 1 titles and been named French Player of the Year on three occasions. It’s an added compliment that the first of those gongs came in 2018, the same year he helped fire France to the World Cup in Russia.

Mbappe’s rise from FIFA unknown to household nаme is also recognised by the fact he’s gone on to grace the game’s front cover three times. Only Wayne Rooney (seven), Ronaldinho (five) and Lionel Messi (four) have racked up more cover appearances.

Hearing the Mbappe nаme cried on the biggest stages has become fairly routine in 2024, such is the player’s impact for club and country. However, the world could have welcomed a different star altogether – or not at all – had he stuck with his original callsign.