Talent for football is something that runs in the Mbappe family. Kylian Mbappe is already one of the most well known names not only in football, but global sports as a whole, and it looks like his younger brother, Ethan, is also getting set to follow in his footsteps.
Just like Kylian, Ethan began his football journey with local side Bondy. Two years later, he joined PSG when the Paris club acquired his older brother from AS Monaco. He spent three years in the French capital before leaving for a better chance at establishing himself in first-team football, moving to Lille.
In Lille, Ethan Mbappe has established himself as an important part of manager Bruno Genesio’s plans. He played 18 league games in the 2025/26 season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
At the moment, Ethan is in the Americas, cheering for his older brother and France at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The pair were recently pictured together.
While plenty can be said about the footballing talents of both players, many fans were quick to point out Ethan Mbappe’s surprisingly diminishing hairline.
One fan shared images of a longer, braided hairstyle Ethan Mbappe used to sport in the past.
Comparing those images with more recent ones, the difference is drastic.
This guy used to have more hair than Mbappe. Wtf happened ? pic.twitter.com/cIN5n0hX3x
— StealthObserver (@SpeedBHHD) June 28, 2026
The kid is only 19 and already has a receding hairline
— Kevin Ngoruh Monsang (@kevinMonsang) June 28, 2026
his brother got that mane hairline
— flegmatique (@ffleg_) June 28, 2026
Bro needs to fire his barber man wtf is this🤣
— $%@! (@jst_fxx) June 28, 2026
Ethan Mbappe always had a slightly mature hairline, looking at past photos. However, it never seemed unusually receded.
It is possible that factors such as stress off the field may have contributed to a slight change in his hairline. Being a professional footballer comes with it’s fair share of off-field tension, as does being the brother of one of the most talked-about athletes in the world.
Additionally, there is also a possibility that his current hairstyle or the lighting of his surroundings gives an illusion of Ethan’s hairline being slightly more receded than it actually is. In the more recent image, the youngster is pictured rocking shorter hair, while he has usually fashioned long braids in the past.
In terms of genetics, Ethan Mbappe is of Cameroonian and Algerian descent.
Cameroonians, Algerians and Africans in general are highly susceptible to traction alopecia, which is a form of hair loss caused by tight, repetitive styling, chemicals, and heat. It is possible this could be a contributing factor.
As the summer wears on, discussion about players’ lives off the field will continue amongst fans. Kylian Mbappe and Les Bleus, however, will be fully focused on more important matters.
Coming into this summer’s World Cup with arguably the most well-rounded squad in the tournament, the French are heavily favoured to go all the way and repeat their exploits from 2018.
Their performances so far have lived up to the hype, as they won all three group-stage games to cruise to a first place finish in Group I, even though many fans and experts alike labelled it the “group of death” before the tournament began.
Next, Kylian Mbappe and company take on Sweden in the Round of 32. Were they to win that, a potential Round of 16 tie against either Germany or Paraguay lies in wait.
