Back in March 2025, Kylian Mbappé made a surprising business by purchasing shares in the French SailGP team.
Through his venture capital firm Alliance Capital, Mbappe became the team’s official philanthropic partner, joining a diverse investor global racing champion, including F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, who sponsors German team, actor Hugh Jackman and Australian team co-owner Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of the Australian team.
Recent interview sportsthe Real Madrid superstar revealed his reason for investing in the team.
“Well, the first thing is that as a Frenchman, I always wanted to support my fellow countrymen,” Mbappé explained. “I always wanted to support the French movement, so that was the first factor.”
He also highlighted the social impact of SAILGP: “The second is because SailGP does a lot of social activities for children. And being able to make my foundation interact with SailGP really makes me happy because we share a lot of values and we plan together for the future.”
Founded in 2020, Mbappé is inspired by the Kylian Mbappé (IBKM) Foundation, aims to help young people find direction and purpose in their lives. Through a partnership with the French SailGP team, he is creating opportunities for some of 98 teenagers and young people to experience the thrill of advanced competitions firsthand.
“I want them to have the freedom to create their own experiences, their own memories, because they are going to survive,” he said.
“They will also learn the meaning of sacrifice, the meaning of hard work, because they will see how much work it takes to get results, and see the preparation for major competition.
As for his own navigation expertise, Mbappé admits it is still limited – but he is eager to learn and considers it a potential new passion beyond football.
“I’m a very curious person and I’m working to develop myself more and more to gain as much knowledge as possible,” he said. “So it’s really a great learning experience for me because sailing is not an area that I know very well.
“I never want to close any doors for a career that comes after a career. I never want to say no to anything, so we’ll see, but I have a lot of work to do before thinking about what happens later.”
With his commitment to French sports, youth development and personal growth, Mbappé reflects his ambitions on the court and on the court and suggests an exciting future, both at the football field and at the open sea.
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