French Soccer Star Kylian Mbappe’s Partner in Crime Could Be the First Transgender to Cover Playboy Magazine’s Cover

French star Kylian Mbappe is making headlines both on and off the pitch. While his performances have gained considerable attention heading into the FIFA World Cup, not many are aware of his partner-in-crime outside the sport. We are talking about Ines Rau, who is the first open transgender to feature on the Playboy magazine cover.

French superstar Kylian Mbappe has been in news for his brace against Denmark to power Les Bleus to the knockout stages of the tournament. He has scored three goals in the tournament so far and is determined to defend the soccer world cup trophy.

Kylian Mbappe spotted enjoying quality time with Ines Rau

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Mbappe was seen spending his time on his yacht alongside Ines Rau. This follows their appearance together at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. But who is Rau, and why has been she linked with the soccer superstar?

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For the unversed, Rau is a French model of Algerian descent. She made her first appearance in Playboy magazine in 2014, posing for a special section titled Evolution. Eventually, she made forged ahead to become a star model in her own right. Ines is also a social media influencer and has over a million followers on Instagram.

Rau is also the only open transgender to feature on the magazine cover. She has revealed her arduous struggles in her autobiography, ‘Woman’, where she disclosed her gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16.

Interestingly, Rau is 32, making her almost nine years older than Mbappe. However, life finds its unique ways, and the alleged couple seems inseparable in their photos together.

Will the alleged relationship distract Mbappe from the World Cup?

As things stand, it has anything but fueled Mbappe’s ambition to return home with a World Cup. The defending champions at this year’s edition, the French national soccer team, have already made a flying start at the competition. They became the first team to enter the knockout stages after registering two wins out of two.

While they coasted to victory in the opening fixture, the team needed a special performance from Kylian Mbappe to secure another three points. The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored two goals, with the second one in the 86th minute, to assure victory.

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He now leads the scoring charts at the World Cup with three goals to his name alongside Ecuador captain, Enner Valencia. He’s also one short of matching his own record from the last World Cup, where he scored 4 goals in 7 appearances en route to victory.