France superstar Kylian Mbappe received one of the greatest honours that England can bestow upon a sportsman from a rival nation on Friday – a lifelike waxwork at London’s Madame Tussauds museum.
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The statue shows the 2018 World Cup winner striking a familiar pose – arms crossed and wearing France’s white away jersey from last summer’s European Championships, along with captain’s armband.
“The entire … outfit was donated by Mbappe himself,” Madame Tussauds said in a press release.
The statue went on public display at the central London venue on Friday, seeing Mbappe take his place alongside waxwork clones of other footballing greats like Peleand Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘Twin’
The waxwork had first been shown to the Real Madrid forward in the Spanish capital last week.
“Let me introduce you to my twin,” he joked in a post on Instagram.
Jo Kinsey, studio manager at the museum, said she had been delighted by Mbappe’s reaction.
“It was amazing. He said he was honoured but we’re really honoured,” she told AFP.
For the effigy’s creation, a team of artists meet the former PSG player for several hours.
They took hundreds of measurements and photos to accurately capture the colour of his hair, skin and eyes, said Kinsey, adding that even a dental scan was taken.
“We discussed the pose, the look,” she added.
Kylian Mbappe, 26, already has waxworks at Madame Tussauds in Berlin and at the Musee Grevin in Paris.
Have you ever visited Madame Tussauds in London?
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
