AFP had been able to carry out a joint interview between the old King - it was one of his last public appearances - and the young Prince, in an atmosphere imbued with marks of affection and knowing smiles, as the journalist Yassine Khiri then reported. .

Thereafter, the bond never broke between the two men, Pelé, from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo, still having a last word for his "dear friend", on December 18, after the defeat of the France in the final of the World Cup-2022 against Argentina.

"The king of football has left us, but his legacy will never be forgotten, rest in peace, King", for his part reacted Kylian Mbappé Thursday, after the death of the Brazilian legend.

Following this death, AFP rebroadcasts the joint interview carried out in a Parisian hotel:

QUESTION: Initially scheduled for November 2018, your meeting was finally able to take place.

How did it go?

PELE: "Everything went well, it was very pleasant. It happened so quickly! But I had a good teacher by my side (he turns to Kylian Mbappé). He helped me to everything (laughs)!"

Q: Kylian, would you have believed one day possible to meet Pelé, even in your wildest dreams?

MBAPPE: "No, because for me, even when I was little, I thought it would have been impossible! I never thought I would meet him. Football gave me so many opportunities to achieve my dreams, even those that I didn't have or that I thought were unachievable. This meeting is one of them, I am very proud and very happy about it."

Handshake between Kylian Mbappé and Pelé at the Hotel Lutetia on April 2, 2019 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Q: He says you are "the new Pelé".

What does this recognition mean to you?

MBAPPE: "You see it like me, there is only one + King + and he is there. I am just Kylian, I try to do my best to help my team, my selection. The comparisons are flattering but I know very well that I will never do what he did."

Q: Pelé, did you give any advice to Kylian so that he could achieve the same career as yours?

PELE: "He doesn't need it. I just told him that he has to be a good boy, a nice person. But above all to stay calm (laughs)."

Q: Kylian, considering Pele the best player in history, do you think it's possible to become the best player of the 21st century?

MBAPPE: (He blows) "You know, when Pelé was playing, he didn't tell himself that he wanted to be the best player in history. He wanted to have fun, to help his selection and his club as he did. What I want is to help Paris SG, the France team and then it's the others -- I think -- who will say you're the best. he's the best but if we are, there's no need to say it. It's not a goal for me."

Q: Pelé, what is Kylian still missing to become the new "King"?

PELE: "It will all depend on the number of goals he scores! (He speaks to Mbappé in English) How many goals are there?"

MBAPPE: "Ninety-twelve" (Editor's note: as of December 30, 2022, the Frenchman now has more than 250 goals in official matches, according to statistician Opta)

PELE: "There are still a lot left then (laughs)! People tend to say that the goals are the most important - I thank God for having scored many in my career - but you have to know that we (the strikers) "We need to be well supported. You can't score a goal alone, you need good teammates. That's very important."

Q: Can he one day reach the 1000 goal mark like you before the end of his professional career?

PELE: "I hope so! For me, it's possible!"

Q: Kylian, for example, we saw you counting your goals in training during a photo published on your social networks.

Is reaching this record a goal?

MBAPPE: "I think that even if we count the goals at the +city stadium+ (small pitch, editor's note), the goals at the +PlayStation+, I will not be able to equal the bar of 1000 goals! It's really far.. We will try to get closer as best we can but I think I will still be far from it at the end of my career."

Q: To achieve this, does Kylian have to make club history like Lionel Messi at Barcelona or have a Cristiano Ronaldo-like career by succeeding at several different clubs?

PELE: "In current football, it's a bit different from what I knew. It depends on the money we're going to offer him, he needs to live (laughs)! That's the big difference today. For him, it would be better to always play in the same club because he loves his team but he also has to take care of his life in the future. Footballers have a very short career so after that they have to think about living. It's important to think about that."

Q: In 2018, Mbappé came very close to winning the Ballon d'Or.

In 2019, it may still be a bit complicated because of the Champions League... Can he finally win everything in 2020?

PELE: "You have to ask God! He has the qualities to do it but it depends on him, on a lot of parameters too. It's difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow."

MBAPPE: "He's right, he said it all!"

Interview by Yassine KHIRI.

© 2022 AFP