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Meet France’s flute-playing football captain, Kylian Mbappé

16 June 2026, 16:14

Captain of France’s national football team, Kylian Mbappé, played flute in school. Picture: Getty

By Hazel Davis

The French football captain learned flute for two years in school.

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Real Madrid forward and captain of the French national football team, Kylian Mbappé has revealed a brief stint as a budding flute player.

The revelation came during a recent appearance on James Corden’s After Hours show. Mbappé, 27, was coaxed into recalling his early musical education during a car ride with the British comic.

“My parents wanted me to do many things and explore many things,” he said, explaining that he played for one or two years up to the age of seven.

Corden suggested he might once have become “the greatest flute player of your generation”. Mbappé laughed off the idea but agreed that playing the instrument had been fun.

The conversation took an unexpected turn when Corden produced a flute from the back of the car.

“No way! It’s been many years. It has been years,” Mbappé said, before gamely attempting a note and admitting: “I’ve lost everything.”

Corden even encouraged the footballer to turn his flute-playing past into a celebration, much like tennis player Novak Djokovic’s violin gesture in tribute to his daughter.

Mbappé laughingly agreed that, if he scores in France’s first World Cup match against Senegal on 16 June, he would adopt a flute-playing pose to celebrate.

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Mbappé isn’t alone among elite footballers with classical leanings.

Chilean forward Alexis Sánchez is an accomplished pianist, having maintained the hobby alongside his professional career.

Two of England’s star players, Leah Williamson and Michelle Agyemang, are also keen pianists. Agyemang even brought a piano to the 2025 Euros with her, to relax and unwind between matches.

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford learned both the violin and piano in his youth and Dutch footballer Nathan Aké took up piano in lockdown, donating instruments to Manchester schools.