Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe
Marcus Chan
Paris Saint Germain star Kylian Mbappe is reportedly dating Ines Rau, who is the first transgender model to appear on the Playboy cover.
According to Italian news outlet Corriere dello Sports, Mbappe was seen at the Cannes Film Festival with Rau and was later pictured carrying Rau on a luxury yacht.
Rau made her first appearance in Playboy back in 2014, and in 2017, became the first transgender model to star on the cover.
At the time, there were backlash over Rau’s appearance on the cover. Cooper Hefner, the son of the Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said: “We should collectively be fighting for a more open world, not one that promotes hatred and a lack of acceptance.”
Rau said in a previous interview for Playboy, via ETOnline: “I lived a long time without saying I was transgender.
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“I dated a lot and almost forgot. I was scared of never finding a boyfriend and being seen as weird. Then I was like, 'You know, you should just be who you are. It’s a salvation to speak the truth about yourself, whether it’s your gender, sexuality, whatever.
“The people who reject you aren’t worth it. It’s not about being loved by others; it’s about loving yourself.’”
She added: “When I was doing this shoot, I was thinking of all those hard days in my childhood.
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“And now everything happening gives me so much joy and happiness. I thought, 'Am I really going to be a Playmate -- me?' It’s the most beautiful compliment I’ve ever received. It’s like getting a giant bouquet of roses.”
Meanwhile, Mbappe has been making the headlines recently for the wrong reasons on the pitch.
Despite PSG’s promising start to their Ligue 1 campaign, there has been reports of rising tensions between Mbappe and the Parc des Princes club’s other mega stars, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
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Earlier last month, Mbappe appeared to stop running during a counter attack after team mate Vitinha failed to pass him the ball, which caused anger amongst fans.
However, PSG boss Christophe Galtier played down the incident.
He said: “Kylian played his last game three weeks ago so I knew it was going to be tough on a physical level for him.
“He's a competitor. He wants to be good and he wants to be good quickly, but a top footballer is not on and off like that; it takes a little time to regain 100 per cent of his athletic abilities.
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“When he's at 100 per cent, he'll make the difference even more. These are players who like to score, who want to score, who attack. It's a bit normal for him to be disappointed at being a little short physically compared to his teammates.”