Real Madrid may not have had the 2024/25 campaign they hoped for – falling short in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup, all of which went to fierce rivals Barcelona – but for Kylian Mbappe, it was a debut season to remember at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After a slow start, Real Madrid's star forward found his rhythm and ended the season with a stunning 42 goals in all competitions. That tally not only broke Iván Zamorano’s long-standing record for most goals in a debut season for the club, but also earned Mbappe his first-ever European Golden Shoe.
With the season now behind him, the 26-year-old has taken some well-earned time off and recently returned to a familiar setting: Monaco, where he watched the Monaco Grand Prix.
The day after the race, Mbappe was spotted socialising with F1 driver Lando Norris, who won the Grand Prix, as well as NBA star Jimmy Butler, posing for photos with both.
Butler is one of several NBA stars – alongside the likes of LeBron James – who is famously passionate about football. In fact, the Golden State Warriors star is also a big fan of Mbappe himself.
Back in January 2021, Butler appeared on GQ Sports’ "Actually Me,” where he went undercover online to answer fan questions on social media. Responding to a tweet in which he shared photos of himself playing soccer, one fan asked: “What club would you want to play for?”
Butler replied: “I would definitely have to say PSG. I think if I’m alongside Mbappe [and] the greatest to ever do it in Neymar Jr., I feel like they’re gonna make me look like I really know what I’m doing out there on the pitch."
"It’d be a battle. I mean, me and Neymar going head to head for who’s gonna wear 10. I don’t know. But PSG! That’s the way I’m going," he joked.
Fast forward to this past weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix, and Butler was finally face-to-face with the man he once dreamed of playing alongside – a full-circle moment for one of Mbappe’s biggest fans in the NBA.
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