During an auction on Thursday evening, (ex) Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé purchased a painting representing football legend Pelé. “O Rei” (the king in Portuguese) for an amount of 520,000 euros, indicated The Parisian. Painted in 2023, this work, created by French street artist Alexandre Hopare (real name Alexandre Monteiro), measures 200×150 cm.
The auction took place in Paris in the private mansion of Artcurial, which organized it for the benefit of the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation, Paris For Good. For this work, the price was set at 5,000 euros but everything came to a head when Kylian Mbappé and his friend, PSG defender Achraf Hakimi, engaged in a duel worthy of the France-Morocco match of the last World Cup. 2022 in Qatar.
A duel for a good cause
Initially, six people were among the buyers. But after the 300,000 euros mark had passed, only the two friends remained in the running to win this trophy. With his determined character, the Frenchman fought like he did on the pitch to finally win the match. With these 520,000 euros, this painting was the record sale of a charity evening which raised 2.7 million euros for charity.
It is common knowledge that Kylian Mbappé has always admired King Pelé. The two men had already met during an event in April 2019. The legendary footballer then dubbed the French striker. When Pelé died, the captain of the France team paid him a vibrant tribute. “The king of football has left us, but his legacy will never be forgotten, rest in peace, King” he wrote on his X account.