Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappé has been named among 26 wealthy targets on the kidnap list of a criminal ring run from a French prison cell, in a plot French authorities say they foiled before it ever got off the ground.
The plot police say they stopped
The alleged mastermind is an 18-year-old Franco-Swiss inmate, Clément L., already behind bars for armed robbery and pimping. Investigators say he kept directing an organized gang from his cell at the Villepinte penitentiary in Seine-Saint-Denis, issuing orders over Snapchat under the pseudonym Lester Z, as first reported by Le Parisien and picked up by MARCA.
Mbappé was one of 26 names found on phones seized from the suspect and his associates. The target list reportedly mixed footballers, rappers and wealthy business owners, including jewelers and wholesalers in and around Paris whose fortunes run into the millions.
A “hit list” heavy on the very rich
The names police pulled off the devices paint the ring as one hunting big-money victims:
- Footballers and rappers, with Mbappé singled out by a judicial source as the standout target
- Jewelers and luxury watchmakers, a clue to how the gang was first exposed
- Wholesale business owners, including a Chinese wholesaler in the 19th arrondissement and a Turkish meat trader in Val-d’Oise
Authorities say they first tied the ring to the April assault on a watchmaker in Neuilly-sur-Seine, an investigation that eventually led back to the imprisoned teen. WION reports the alleged ringleader was charged on August 21 for organized robbery among other offences and is being held in solitary pretrial detention.
Mbappé’s season keeps the spotlight on him
The news lands in a season where Mbappé has rarely been out of the frame. The French captain was already front and center after a hat-trick powered Real Madrid top of La Liga, and this latest off-field scare adds a security layer to his superstar profile. For the global football beat ASTIG.PH has been tracking all season, the transfer window drama and its stars keep delivering stories well past the pitch.
What to make of the reports
For now the case rests on French judicial leaks and reporting rather than an official statement from Mbappé’s camp. The plot was disrupted, no one was hurt, and the 18-year-old suspect remains in custody. As is standard with open investigations, the full details are still emerging, and nothing here should be read as an active threat to the player. Expect Real Madrid and the French authorities to stay tight-lipped while the case moves through the courts.
