Mbappe publishes first picture of his partner: He's sick, says team-mate

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FT Desk

Kylian Mbappe has finally acknowledged his relationship with actress Ester Exposito after months of speculation.

Multiple tabloid reports claim the pair have been dating since the start of the year, with paparazzi photographing them together on several occasions.

Up until this week, neither had appeared on the other's social media or named each other.

That is still effectively the case, but Mbappe put up a cryptic post on social media, referring to his love life with the song lyrics, "She has blonde hair. My baby is the most beautiful. It's my jewel, it's my candy, my candy."

The lyrics are from the song 'Maladie' by artist Mauvais Djo.

Initially, he posted a picture of Exposito but quickly deleted it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kylian Mbappé (@k.mbappe)

Judging from the reaction of some of his friends and family, it is clear that Mbappe is referring to Exposito with the post that remains. His little brother, Ethan, wrote, "She has blonde hair, huh", alongside laughing emojis.

Former team-mate Ousmane Dembele simply responded by saying "sick", followed again by laughing emojis.

Many social media users have pointed out how happy Mbappe looks in his recent dump of photos from his vacation following the World Cup.

Exposito previously alluded to her connection with Mbappe in a social media post in which she slammed those who have been critical of their relationship as well as supposed false rumours about her personally.

"In recent months, and more particularly in recent days, false information and defamatory remarks about my private life have circulated on social networks," she wrote.

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A post shared by Ester 🌙 (@ester_exposito)

"They do not correspond in any way to reality or to the person I am. Absurd rumors, created for the sole purpose of dirtying a story between two people and violating my dignity. Not everything is allowed. This time, I am forced to set a limit and take legal action against the responsible persons!"

Mbappe is coming off a summer in which he helped France reach the semi-final of the World Cup.

His Real Madrid career hasn't been full of success as of yet, as Los Blancos failed to win a major trophy last season, while rumours spread about a spat between the former Paris Saint-Germain forward and England midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The man brought in to bring the squad together at the Santiago Bernabeu is Jose Mourinho, back for a second stint in charge after being fired by president Florentino Perez 13 years ago.