This is Mbappé’s manager: Meet Fayza Lamari, the French striker’s mom

Scorer of seven goals so far in North America, Kylian Mbappé will again be the spearhead of France’s attack this afternoon, when Les Bleus take on Morocco for a place in the 2026 World Cup semifinals. As France continue their pursuit of the nation’s third global title - and Mbappé chases a second straight World Cup Golden Boot - the Real Madrid striker will, as ever, be cheered on by a figure who has had a crucial influence on his life and career: Fayza Lamari.

What to know about Fayza Lamari

Lamari is Mbappé’s mother - and also his agent. She has been there since the beginning, guiding the 27-year-old through contract negotiations and the general world of elite soccer, where things can quickly get quite cut-throat.

Lamari has manoeuvred Mbappé as he has progressed throughout his life in the professional game, organizing the 2017 deal that took him from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain, the subsequent contract renewals in the French capital, and of course, his 2024 move to Real Madrid.

The 51-year-old was born in Bondy on the outskirts of Paris, but her parents were part of a Berber ethnic group in the Kabylia region of northern Algeria. A former handball player with AS Bondy and the French national handball team in the late 1990s and early 2000s, she hung up her boots and transitioned into the world of sport business. Lamari eventually began acting as her son’s agent and consequently becoming one of the most powerful voices behind the scenes.

A tough negotiator

Mbappé’s mother has a reputation as a formidable negotiator, and was the person in charge of diffusing the bomb when the striker said back in 2021 that he wanted to leave PSG. “His dad wanted him to stay, and the lawyer and I wanted him to leave,” she calmly explained to Le Parisien. “(But) none of us three decide. When Kylian wants something, you can (try to) do whatever you want. (But) he will do it.”

The Athletic say she takes “an uncompromising approach to contract negotiations, trying to outmanoeuvre men as powerful as PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Madrid president Florentino Perez”.

Lamari married Wilfried Mbappé, a French-Cameroonian football coach and agent, in 1997. Together the pair had sons Kylian and Ethan, and also became adoptive parents of a third boy, Jirès Kembo Ekoko. At times, the career-management duties have been shared between the parents, with his father Wilfried taking care of the soccer side and his mother the commercial side. According to The Athletic, the couple are now separated, although they remain on good terms.

France vs Morocco: kickoff times, how to watch in the U.S.

In the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, France and Morocco meet today, Thursday, July 9, with kickoff at Gillette Stadium scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the game on Fox Network, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Fox One and fubo.

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