Mbappe at centre of kidnap plot after gangster, 18, ‘masterminded attacks on 26 footballers, rappers & business moguls’

SportFootball A TEENAGER has been arrested for plotting the abduction of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé and other wealthy individuals in France, it has been reported. Clément L, 18, has been labelled as the mastermind of a gang he allegedly operated through Snapchat, under the alias “Lester Z”, while in prison for pimping and armed robbery. Mbappé was the most prominent of their targets Credit: Instagram The footballer pictured while on holiday Credit: Instagram Trawling through his two mobile phones, authorities found addresses and information linked to 26 targets. Mbappé who boasts an estimated net worth of around £200 million is the most prominent of them. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Rappers and businessmen, including a Turkish meat trader and a jeweller, all with enormous fortunes were also marked by the gang. The plot began to unravel when two alleged gang members armed with handguns robbed a watchmaker’s shop in Paris in May, according to Le Parisien. The pair made off with 11 luxury watches worth £128,000 before fleeing the scene on a scooter. One suspect was arrested half an hour later after crashing his two-wheeler into a truck, and a second was arrested shortly after. The investigation eventually led police to Clément and an accomplice. “This young man was already in prison for serious offenses, and now he is turning up in a new case involving a rapper and a renowned footballer,” the Advocate General told the court this morning. Most read in Sport Mbappé during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between Real Madrid and Malaga CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on August 30, 2026 in Madrid Credit: Getty Mbappé is one of the footballers on the list Credit: Getty “Only solitary confinement in prison can make him understand the reality of the situation, given the chaotic, criminal life he leads.” Clément’s criminal record includes two convictions for drug-related offences and one for violent robbery. He dropped out of school while studying for a vocational qualification in cooking, it was reported. “I know the offences are serious,” the young man told the court. During questioning, he attempted to downplay his level of involvement in the gang. So far, Clément maintains that he was not the mastermind – but merely an intermediary between a mysterious boss and the foot soldiers who carried out the act. In his defence, he said: “I’m being held in solitary confinement, surrounded by madmen and terrorists, and I don’t think that’s going to improve. “I really want to become a chef; it’s been a dream of mine since I was very young.”