Everyone gets excited to see new faces in the world of sports. Sadly, however, many end up failing — and the media plays a large role in this. Going into the professional sporting world makes their lives completely different when athletes go from having a normal life to living the high-stakes life of a celebrity.
The most recent example is Kylian Mbappe, an 18-year-old French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He was named the FIFA Golden Boy for his outstanding performance in last season Champions League. Many are talking about the amount of revenue this 18-year-old is producing, especially after agreeing to play for the PSG team for an astonishing bid of 180 million. His contract is expected to run until 2022. This is a ridiculously large sum of money for a player who hasn’t won anything in his career, and who is not considered a player who can carry his team on his back.
The main reason why many people argue that it’s too much money is because he’s young and his future is still unclear. You never know if a Golden Boy will play at his peak throughout his career, especially given all of the pressure he is under to perform. A young player needs the opportunity to grow and mature on the field to gain as much experience as possible.
These young bloods are still boys, no matter how much maturity they show or how skillful they are. This life-changing experience can make athletes feel as though the whole weight of the world is on their shoulders. If Golden Boys are made to feel responsible for the success of their team, the stress of this responsibility could eventually hurt them both professionally and personally. Therefore, society needs to stop pressuring them as much as they do.
